The Second Portal
by 50of47
Summary: The crew of Voyager find themselves in an unfamiliar dimension after passing through the first of a series of wormholes that would considerably shorten their journey home. They search for a way back to normal Delta Quadrant space.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: All references to Star Trek® or any of its characters are the copyright of Paramount, Inc. No copyright infringement is intended. The "Gauntlet" series of stories is a non-profit endeavor solely for entertainment purposes. The "Gauntlet" concept, which includes the Abrasite setting, 13 Portals, Map Keeper and other unique characters in the first three stories of the series, is the property of Karen Tomlinson. "The Second Portal" story and its unique milieu and characters are the property of this author.

RATING: PG-13

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story was originally written for "The Write Choice" website's Voyager Alternate Season 7 project. The website has since been taken down, with the series incomplete.

The internet is an amazing place, however, and I was able to find the three stories that precede "The Second Portal" archived, thus saving myself a massive rewrite before being able to publish this work.

The stories that precede "The Second Portal" are "The Gauntlet, Part 1," "The Gauntlet, Part 2," and "Gods of the Corn," and should be read in that order. Although this story can be read on its own, it will prove more enjoyable within the unique framework of the original premise.

To read the stories preceding this one, please go to an earlier version of "The Second Portal" at sky dot prohosting dot com/jsnexus/50of47/portal dot html for the links. Just replace the word "dot" with a period. The Author's Notes there contain links to the three stories which begin this series.

SUMMARY: The crew of Voyager find themselves in an unfamiliar dimension after passing through the first of a series of wormholes that would considerably shorten their journey home. They search for a way back to normal Delta Quadrant space.

**The Second Portal**

**by 50of47**

Last time on Star Trek:Voyager:

Kathryn Janeway groaned as she pulled herself up to a sitting position on the deck of the Bridge. Her head throbbed painfully as she closed her eyes and deepened her breathing to fight off waves of nausea. After a few moments, the throbbing began to subside, so she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings as best she could with blurred vision. There was little, if any, damage to the Bridge as far as she could tell, but her crew lay scattered where they had fallen when Harry Kim's First Portal song had driven them into unconsciousness. The countermeasure had apparently worked and gotten them through the First Portal relatively unscathed. Voyager was still in one piece, with stars visible on the viewscreen.

Janeway grabbed the arm of her command chair and shakily leveraged herself off the deck and into the chair. The nausea returned, so she closed her eyes again until the sensation passed and she felt her mental acuity returning.

When she opened her eyes this time, she found that her vision had improved, though everything remained slightly out of focus. Janeway saw Seven moving near the helm, where the thick fog that had surrounded Tom Paris from the moment he placed his hand on the First Portal map had dissipated. She watched the former Borg place a blanket around Paris's shoulders and then beam him to Sickbay.

Having heard the Captain's efforts to get herself back into her command chair, Seven then turned to face Janeway and asked, "Captain?"

"Yes. I'm okay. Status?"

Seven reported that the crew was all accounted for, that there was minimal damage to the hull, but that warp and impulse drive were offline, leaving Voyager adrift. As they spoke, Janeway checked the readings on the console next to her chair, and was gratified to see that downed systems were coming back online. She glanced up at the viewscreen, and did not recognize any of the star patterns. "Any idea where we are?"

Seven hesitated before replying, "Captain, the ship's chronometers and navigational devices are not functioning properly."

_Great, just great_, thought Janeway. _We're an easy target. _She stood and took a few steps toward the viewscreen. "An after effect of the Portal?"

"No, I can discern no such effect. We entered an energy field before passing through the Portal. The field had readings of severe spatial and temporal anomalies."

"A time warp?"

"It is more likely that we entered an area of space that is not part of our spatial continuum."

Janeway's head began to throb again, and for a brief moment, she felt overwhelmed. She sat down once more in her command chair. "You are saying that we have entered an alternative plane? Another dimension?"

"It is a logical assumption. It would explain why Icheb's skywall could not foresee what lay beyond the portal or why those that enter the portal can not return. It also explains how we can travel 35 thousand light years in six months. I suggest that we may be passing back and forth between our spatial and temporal plane and this one each time we enter a portal."

"How are we going to navigate to the next portal if we have no point of reference?"

"I believe I can adjust the Astrometrics sensors to accommodate our new environment. This plane must have a theoretical center just as our plane does. We can extrapolate from that."

Janeway closed her eyes again, and sighed heavily. She wondered briefly what they had gotten themselves into and if it was worth it, but then realized it was just the headache and lingering effects from the trip through the First Portal affecting her mood. She heard the Bridge crew beginning to stir, and shook off her pessimism. Opening her eyes, she stared at the viewscreen, studying her surroundings while Seven waited in silence.

A ship drifted into sight as Janeway continued to study the unfamiliar stars. "Those that followed us?"

Seven followed Janeway's line of sight and replied, "The Magol. They and two other ships were the only ones to enter the portal with us. The fate of the others is unknown."

"Life signs?"

"All crew components are alive. They are still unconscious."

"Seven, the priority is to get warp drive back on line. I want to be long gone before they wake up."

"Understood, Captain."

_In the four days prior to__the events of "The Second Portal"__:_

Torres, Seven, and the Engineering staff were able to restore warp and impulse power within a few hours, which allowed _Voyager_ to leave the sector before the other three vessels that had followed them through the First Portal could begin pursuit. The Magol ship and two others of undetermined origin remained in the area near the Portal, adrift in space.

_Voyager's_ communications array picked up a faint signal from the Natra system that promised facilities for shore leave, ship repair, and restock. However, Janeway decided not to alter course for Natra, since she wanted to put as much distance between _Voyager_ and their Magol pursuers as possible.

Unknown to the crew, the region around the now-sealed First Portal resembled normal space only for enough distance to allow any ship carrying the map to get safely away. As _Voyager_ traveled deeper into unfamiliar territory, its technology gradually began to behave erratically. Torres placed a dampening field around the external sensors to compensate for the higher than normal ambient anti-neutrino and chroniton particle density levels found in Second Portal space, but the modification had little effect. The navigational sensor array in particular grew increasingly unreliable, making warp travel unsafe.

Repeated tachyon bursts were unable to disperse the dense temporal distortions and spatial anomalies that were characteristic of this alternate dimension. It was still unclear whether passage through the energy barrier at the entrance to the First Portal or the temporal and spatial distortions of Second Portal space itself was the trigger for the technological failures; since there was insufficient reliable data to make a clear-cut determination. Tuvok was deep in meditation over the now-inactive First Portal map, but had not yet derived any information that might explain what was happening to their technology.

The star systems of Second Portal space were totally unfamiliar to the crew. With the growing series of malfunctions, astrometrics sensors were unable to get more than a transitory fix on _Voyager's_ position relative to the alternate dimension's theoretical center. Seven had managed to run a complete deep-level scan before the malfunctions rendered the astrometrics sensors useless. She was able to derive enough additional data from the stellar cartography department's initial scans of the region taken when _Voyager's_ systems came back online to start building a theoretical construct. Unfortunately, nothing about the construct matched any known stellar model in the ship's database.

Finally, by the end of the first day in Second Portal space, the system malfunctions had reached levels so dangerous that Tom Paris expressed his professional opinion that piloting a ship as large as _Voyager_ any further was unsafe, even at impulse. Navigational sensors could not maintain readings long enough for Paris to establish course headings. Additionally, relays had started to overload and burn out nearly as quickly as repair teams could replace them. Although the ship still had impulse power, neither it nor the _Delta Flyer_ could form a stable warp field.

The Captain's greatest concern was the shield malfunctions. Despite Second Portal space's temporal and spatial anomalies, the shields worked reasonably well for short periods of time. Past a certain duration, however, entire vectors would unexpectedly phase from functioning within Starfleet tolerances to either pronounced weakness or total failure.

Janeway was also greatly concerned about depleting Engineering's supply of spare parts and raw materials for fabricating replacements so soon into Second Portal space. She authorized Chakotay, Tuvok, Tom Paris, and Neelix to take the _Delta Flyer_ and travel to the Natra system, roughly 10 hours away at impulse. Sensors had collected enough data before the worst of the malfunctions to allow Seven and stellar cartography to create star charts for the away team to use in navigating a course to Natra the old-fashioned way -- by relying on what they could see outside of the _Flyer's_ viewport. After Torres placed a dampening field around the shuttle's optical scanners, they functioned with enough reliability to serve as a backup to visual navigation.

The away team was gone for nearly two days. A Natran ship attacked the _Delta Flyer_, taking them prisoner as they were returning to _Voyager_ with replacement parts and supplies. An alien insect bit Chakotay while he was a captive, infecting him with a plague virus that caused a life-threatening allergic reaction. The away team was forced by their captors to undergo a maze challenge to save Chakotay's life.

When the away team finally returned, all four were sent to Sickbay for treatment. Tom Paris, Neelix, and Tuvok recovered fairly rapidly, and were debriefed while still in Sickbay. The Doctor discharged them to their quarters with orders to rest until the following day, when they were scheduled to return for reexamination to determine their fitness for duty.

Morale Officer Neelix spent his enforced "vacation" from the galley planning how he would mark _Voyager's_ safe passage through the First Portal. Since B'Elanna was tied up with trying to solve the systems malfunctions, Tom decided this was a good time to program a few more chapters of "Captain Proton" to surprise his buddy Harry Kim. Once Tuvok returned to his quarters, he resumed his interrupted meditation over the inactive First Portal map.

Chakotay remained in Sickbay for over a day and a half, as the Doctor had serious reservations about the First Officer's health. Chakotay had not been able to fully rest and recover from a beating he received while a captive on Gunlag's ship before he was tapped for the emergency away mission to Natra. The severe anaphylactic shock he had suffered while a Natran prisoner had further weakened his condition. The Doctor was concerned about lingering residual effects from the toxin, including any possible delayed reactions that might take a few days to surface.

Four days altogether have passed since Voyager went through the First Portal.


	2. Teaser

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Teaser**

Second Portal space, Day 5:

The Ready room, 1800 hours.

Captain Janeway sat at her desk in the ready room, comparing data on her monitor to sensor readings on a padd she held in her left hand. She was trying to get a handle on this new spatial dimension in which _Voyager's_ crew now found itself, and wasn't making much progress. After absently reaching for her mug of coffee and taking a sip, Janeway wrinkled her nose in disgust and grimaced. Neelix's "Special Blend" was a little hard to take at the best of times, and she had been so focused on the sensor data that her "coffee" had long since grown cold. She decided to use one of her replicator rations as a reward for the long hours of analysis.

Janeway stood, taking the time to stretch out muscle cramps from having sat in one place for so long. She walked to the replicator on the upper level with her coffee mug in one hand, still mentally absorbed in working through the information on the padd in the other. She recycled the mug and its contents and ordered a fresh one of "real" coffee, continuing to study the padd while she waited for her treat to materialize.

Janeway picked up the mug and walked over to relax on the couch for a few minutes, tossing the padd in frustration onto the seat cushion next to her. She shifted her position to lean her left elbow on the back of the couch and rest her chin in her hand. She savored her coffee as she studied the unfamiliar stars outside the viewport while _Voyager_ hung motionless in space. Janeway closed her eyes briefly as she felt one of her headaches coming on. After a few minutes, she heaved a resigned sigh and shifted forward again to lean over and set her coffee down on the low table in front of her. She massaged her temples to ease the throbbing and slouched down on the couch far enough to rest her head comfortably on top of the back cushions. She sat for a while with eyes closed, using one of Tuvok's meditative techniques to help relax herself further. The padd and its conflicting data would still be there when she finished the exercise, but perhaps the impending tension headache could be warded off with a brief period of rest.

At the same time, in Sickbay:

Dressed in a blue Sickbay gown, Chakotay sat on the surgical biobed while the Doctor was finishing up the last of several intensive scans. The EMH set his medical tricorder down on a nearby tray and said, "You're sufficiently recovered to return to light duty tomorrow, Commander, but you'll have to wear a cortical monitor for the next few days. I'm discharging you to your quarters."

"Understood. Thank you, Doctor."

After the Doctor attached the monitor to his neck, Chakotay slowly eased himself off the biobed. He silently followed the Doctor back to his office as he continued, "I took the liberty of recyling what little was left of the filthy uniform you wore in here and replicated you a new one." The Doctor walked behind his desk, and picked up Chakotay's communicator and Maquis rank pin to hand them over while continuing to speak. "It's hanging in the back of my private lab. I will inform the Captain of your condition while you get dressed." Chakotay nodded and walked through the lab to the back.

The Doctor sat at his desk and activated his monitor's comm channel to make his report to the Captain. Once finished, he called up his analysis of the insect venom which had infected Chakotay, and cross indexed it with the scans he had just completed. He studied the data on the screen until Chakotay reappeared, and then looked up to give some last minute instructions.

"I want you in your quarters this evening -- no whiling away the hours in Sandrine's for you," the Doctor said. "I'll be monitoring your condition from Sickbay, but judging by the results of these scans, you should be able to resume your full duty schedule in another two days. I'd like you in here tomorrow after your light duty shift ends, just to be certain."

"Of course, Doctor."

"Now, if you will excuse me..."

Chakotay acknowledged the end of the conversation with a nod, and quickly left Sickbay, relieved to finally be out of there. He waited until he was around the corner and had nearly reached the turbolift before he asked the computer for Janeway's location. The computer responded a few moments later, just as the turbolift doors began to open.

"You're working late," Chakotay said when he saw Torres already inside.

"Nice to see you too, Chakotay," Torres replied. She gestured with the padd and said, "Actually, I'm going off duty after I deliver this progress report to Janeway. Seven and I have been trying to make some kind of sense out of these readings."

"And?"

"Our Borg Queen has a lot of theories about how to bring her precious astrometric sensors back on line. That's. All. She. Wants. To talk about," Torres said, in that distinctive clipped manner that told Chakotay she had reached the end of her patience with the former drone.

"Tell you what, B'Elanna. I was on my way to the Ready room to pay the Captain a visit, so why don't I drop it off for you?" Torres handed him the padd, and Chakotay began to scroll through it as he asked, "How's Tom doing?"

"Well, you know those Starfleet flyboys," Torres said. "He's pretty annoyed that the EMH hasn't cleared him for full duty yet. He'd never admit this to anyone but me or the Doc, but he's still getting lightheaded every so often. If you ask me, it'll be at least another day or two before he can manage the helm for an entire shift." She paused for a moment as a thought occurred to her. "Neither one of you had much chance to recover from our run-in with the Magol before Janeway sent your team off on that last away mission. How are _you_ doing, old man?"

"Much better. The Doctor tells me I can probably return to full duty in another two days," said Chakotay. "Maybe by the time both Tom and I are ready to stand full shifts, we'll actually know where we are."

"It keeps coming back to some kind of alternate space, Chakotay," said B'Elanna. "Higher than normal ambient chroniton and antineutrino levels, which aren't helping the sensors or warp core any, as you already know. We're about where we were when the four of you flew off to Natra."

Chakotay winced and scrolled the padd a little further. "Ouch. How's the Captain taking it?"

"She's been pulling longer duty shifts, trying to help us out. We got enough deep level scan data to begin floating a few theories before the astrometrics sensors quit, but nothing Seven's come up with has worked yet. Janeway could really use a break about now."

The turbolift reached its destination as Torres finished speaking. Chakotay said, "You'll figure it out, B'Elanna -- you always do." Gesturing with the padd, he said, "Forget about everything until your next duty shift, and go see to it that _Voyager's_ best pilot gets back on his feet. We'll need him at the helm when we're ready to get underway." Torres gave him a grateful smile, which Chakotay returned before he turned and stepped out onto the bridge.

The Ready room, 1823 hours:

The door chime rang for a second time, finally startling Janeway out of her meditation. She quickly straightened her rumpled uniform and posture on the couch and responded with a slightly disoriented, "Come in."

Chakotay entered with an expression of obvious concern on his face. "Kathryn, are you all right?"

"Cancel red alert. I was in the middle of one of Tuvok's meditation exercises when you rang the chime. I was hoping to stop a headache."

"Did it work?" he asked.

"For the most part." Her eyes were drawn to the padd in his left hand. She said, "The Doctor advised me a little while ago that he'd discharged you to your quarters to rest."

"It's an unofficial visit, Kathryn. I ran into B'Elanna on the turbolift. She looked pretty beat, so I told her I'd bring the progress report to you, since I was planning to stop by anyway."

"Oh?"

Chakotay sat down on the couch to Janeway's right and handed her the padd. "Harry hasn't come by Sickbay at all, so I don't have all the latest news," he said, with a chuckle. "Between the away mission and my stay with the Doctor, I'm now totally out of the loop." Janeway smiled at the reference to Voyager's biggest gossip. Chakotay's mood sobered as he said, "B'Elanna tells me not much has changed."

Janeway's expression became serious at the mention of their current status. "She's right about that. We finally solved the problem with the chronometers by surrounding them with a localized tachyon field. That's dispersing enough of the temporal distortions to make a difference, but the navigation sensors are pretty much useless. B'Elanna and Seven have been pulling double shifts between Astrometrics and Engineering. I'm trying to be a fresh pair of eyes for whatever they come up with."

Chakotay acknowledged her words with a nod. "I didn't see Tuvok on the Bridge just now," he said.

"Still meditating over the First Portal map. Ayala and the other bridge officers are covering his shifts. I was hoping to minimize the bickering in Engineering by assigning Tuvok to work with B'Elanna and Seven, but then decided it would be more productive for him to find a way to reactivate the map. There might be a clue in it somewhere about what's affecting our systems."

"Good idea," Chakotay said. "B'Elanna tells me we're in some kind of alternate space."

"Right again," Janeway said, "and I've assumed that the Magol and those other two ships with them have been affected by it as well. All of us came from normal space, but there's no taking anything for granted. Magol technology is more advanced than ours, Chakotay. Maybe they weren't disabled as badly – I just don't know. Even if they were, they could easily get everything working before we do. Then there's those other two ships to consider as well. We don't know a thing about them, other than some very sketchy data from a few quick scans Harry was able to get in before we left. The sooner we're underway again, the less I'll feel like _Voyager's _a sitting duck."

"Agreed," said Chakotay. "B'Elanna told me that Seven hasn't come up with anything useful from her astrometrics scan data yet."

"We've looked at every known stellar model in the database, Chakotay. Seven even contributed several from her days in the Collective that neither B'Elanna nor I had ever seen. A few of them almost work, but I can't quite put a finger yet on what we all keep missing."

"Then maybe what the three of you need is a good theorist. Have you shown any of your work to Mortimer Harren? There are those five advanced degrees of his in theoretical cosmology." Janeway sighed quietly and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. "Seriously, Kathryn. You'd be killing two birds with one stone," said Chakotay with amusement in his voice. "Harren would feel he was making a vital contribution to _Voyager_, and B'Elanna would appreciate not being cited for 'failure to utilize expertise' at Seven's next efficiency evaluation."

Janeway laughed and reached over to briefly rest her hand on Chakotay's arm. She gracefully conceded the point, saying, "It's actually a good suggestion, Chakotay." Withdrawing her hand, she continued. "Harren's attitude has improved recently, but I'm not sure I want to deal with that faint aroma of condescension that lingers in the air after any conversation with him. I'll need either a really good night's sleep or to run into a solid duranium wall first before I'll even consider it. There's several possibilities I haven't investigated yet. Admiral Paris thought I was a pretty good quantum cosmologist when I served as his science officer on the Al-Batani, you know."

"I'm not saying that you aren't, Kathryn, but right now you could use a break. Tuvok would be the first to tell you that the crew won't benefit from the leadership of an exhausted captain... or a frustrated one, either, for that matter. Talking to someone for a few hours might clear your head enough to spark some fresh insights," said Chakotay.

"Dinner in the mess hall?"

"Actually, I had Chez Chakotay in mind, oh, say... about 1930 hours? The chef highly recommends the complimentary shoulder rub. It's guaranteed to get rid of any lingering tension headaches," Chakotay said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Janeway shot him a glare.

"Whoa -- hold your fire, Kathryn," said Chakotay. "It's my turn to host our weekly dinner. We postponed it during all the excitement over the map and First Portal, and then postponed it again when the away mission to Natra came up. All I meant to suggest was that we keep it informal. We've just finished discussing official ship's business."

Janeway looked away for a moment and massaged her temples, saying, "Damned headache." She sighed, and then met his eyes, saying, "The frustration must really be getting to me if I can't handle a little teasing." She hesitated and then said, "All right. I hate to admit it, Chakotay, but I probably do need a break. What else is on the menu?"

"How do my mother's vegetarian lasagna and a bottle of Antarian cider sound?"

Janeway laughed and said, "Wonderful, but I won't get much done after dinner if the cider's started to ferment like the last bottle we shared."

"I'll find one that hasn't – I promise. And for dessert, there's Mari waterplum strudel with paracream glaze." At Janeway's surprised look, Chakotay explained. "Neelix paid me a 'morale visit' in Sickbay this morning and mentioned he'd be serving it for tonight's dessert. He told me it was part of his official three-day celebration of our safe passage through the First Portal and the away team's surviving the Natran maze. He promised to save me an extra piece."

Janeway said, "Neelix has made it generally known since he returned to the Mess hall that he has a lot of 'celebrating' planned. So far today, there's been some dish that's a crew favorite at every meal, and I've heard he's taking special requests for the rest of his celebration. He must be feeling insecure after he found out how much everyone enjoyed Chell's cooking and bad puns while he was away -- not that I'm regretting having anything with paracream on it, mind you."

"I'm sure that's probably part of it, Kathryn, but believe me when I say there's more to it than just Neelix's insecurity. This last away mission affected him more deeply than the rest of us. We can talk about it over dessert, once you've caught me up on what our crew's been doing while the four of us were away."

"Your quarters, 1930 hours?"

"Yes."

"I'll pass on the shoulder rub, but definitely hold you to that paracream," she said with a wry smile. "1930 hours it is."

Chakotay returned the smile and left the Ready room to begin his preparations for dinner. Janeway turned her attention to the padd Chakotay had just brought her, hoping to find even the smallest hint of a solution to the ship's problems before dinner.


	3. Act 1

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Act 1**

Day 5:

In the region of space where the First Portal closed:

Three ships drifted slowly in space near the sealed First Portal. The largest vessel by far was the _Herat_, belonging to _Voyager's_ Magol pursuers. In attempting to pass through the First Portal along with _Voyager_, Gunlag had ordered his crew to copy Harry Kim's siren song password exactly, and to broadcast it both internally and externally. Although the signal's ultrahigh frequencies had rendered every Magol aboard ship unconscious, the _Herat_ had still managed to slip past the Beast of the First Portal. This "Beast" lived inside the mouth of the Portal, and blocked the entrance so that it could feed on all vessels attempting to pass through without the protection of the map. The two smaller ships that had also survived the ordeal had been well back in the caravan of eleven trailing _Voyager_. Their sensors had detected the password frequency that both _Voyager_ and the _Herat_ were broadcasting, and their crews watched as both larger ships easily sidestepped destruction. They quickly copied the signal and broadcast it, which allowed them to pass safely into Second Portal space as well.

Repairs were well underway on the Magol ship. The forward and aft external sensor arrays had already been repaired, and the crew was now working on recalibrating them for what appeared to be a different spatial reality just at the edge of their sensor range. The work was a hit-or-miss affair and proceeding more slowly than expected. That was surprising, given the Magols' prior experience with functioning in alternate dimensions gained during frequent piracy and slave raids. Repairs to the ship's propulsion, also damaged during the trip though the Portal, were nearing completion, but the propulsion systems would also require adjustment for the alternate spatial reality the newly repaired long-range sensors had detected. Most of the remaining work still to be done consisted of repair and recalibration of the internal sensors, access nodes, secondary relay packets and comm links that had been heavily damaged by B'Elanna Torres and_Voyager's_ away team during their rescue mission to free Chakotay from Magol captivity.

"At least several more gola, possibly half a ginag, Captain," said Fflam, an Essential, after Gunlag asked when repairs would be sufficiently complete for him to begin his pursuit of Janeway and _Voyager_. The entire bridge staff cringed when Gunlag appeared ready to explode at what he obviously considered to be the wrong answer to his question.

Imot, the only Expendable crewman experienced enough to crew a bridge station, interrupted with news he hoped would deflect Gunlag's rage. "Captain," he said, "Forward sensors are showing two alien vessels nearby. Readings indicate they belong to the Abuskat and the Tarkada. Both were heavily damaged by passage through the Portal." Gunlag's face showed interest. "I can give you visual and communications," Imot added.

"Fflam? Gunlag asked.

Fflam had served aboard several long-range merchant vessels before securing a first officer's post with Gunlag, and thus was vastly more familiar with other species' special strengths, weaknesses, and technology than anyone else aboard. It was the defining advantage he held which had solidified his leadership role among the Essentials.

Fflam quickly glanced at the sensors to confirm Imot's identification before he gave his assessment. "The Abuskat have extremely well-developed scanning systems, with external sensors superior to our own," he said. "They're a race of sentient androids who've programmed instinctual and emotional response patterns for themselves based on their observations of the flesh and blood species. They rely heavily on their detailed sensor readings to function among us, but are lost in any situation for which they can't find analogical information in their database."

"The other ship?" asked Gunlag.

"The Tarkada. They are renowned for their undetectable stealth technology, which they feel is crucial to their continuing survival. Anyone who has ever seen a Tarkada never forgets what one of those creatures looks like," said Fflam with disgust. "Both vessels appear to be considerably more disabled than the _Herat_. Neither is a match for us with their conventional weaponry, even at full strength. They also possess conventional shielding, which did not protect them from heavy damage nearly as well as our metaphasic technology safeguarded us. We can easily strip them of their advanced sensors and cloaks."

"Which are incompatible with Magol systems without extensive modification," said Imot, after a quick scan performed while Fflam had been speaking. "They are useless to us, except as items of trade. Captain, these ships could be more useful to you with their systems intact."

Gunlag glared at Imot for his impertinence in speaking as though he held the position and authority of an Essential. The Captain grudgingly tolerated it, however, because he had learned through experience that Imot was a much more capable engineer than nearly all of the Essentials in his crew. Also, Imot possessed a finely honed sense of self-preservation, despite his dull-witted nature. This prompted him to advance suggestions that Gunlag had found useful and profitable in the past.

Imot flinched under the weight of Gunlag's annoyance, but forged ahead anyway, saying, "Form an alliance with them, Captain. Janeway and her crew already know what the Magol look like. They may not be familiar with the Abuskat or Tarkada, but even if they are, the Tarkada sensor cloaks would allow anyone to follow Janeway's people undetected while they search for the map. Seize the Abuskat and Tarkada technology after they've helped you possess the map and then take your revenge against Janeway and _Voyager_, not before."

"An excellent suggestion, Expendable," said Gunlag, as he walked back to his command chair and wedged his bulky frame into it. "It's too bad you're so stupid when you choose which females to pursue. You might still be an Essential aboard the Akiris family's flagship, instead of an Expendable aboard mine."

The bridge erupted into raucous laughter from Fflam and the rest of the Essentials. Imot's attempt to advance himself by seeking to marry the sole heir of a wealthy Magol merchant family had ended in failure when the girl's family forbade the union. Mikirag's father had paid Gunlag handsomely to take Imot off his hands for the next few years. It was bad enough to lose one's prospects for a comfortable future and one's standing as an Essential on the same day, but far worse was Gunlag's taking every possible opportunity to mock him cruelly about it in front of the rest of the crew. Imot turned back to his sensor panel and busied himself with work, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. At least his engineering skills were never in question.

"Fflam, put both captains up on the screen," said Gunlag. "And since this Expendable's suggestion doesn't involve romance, what harm is there in following it?" The sound of derisive laughter once more filled the bridge. Fflam went to a console next to Imot and began entering commands to establish a communications link with the other ships. After having no luck in opening a comm channel to either ship on his own, Fflam called Imot over to help him. The two worked at the console, speaking quietly to each other and then over the external comm system to the communications officers of the other two ships. While the connections were being established, Gunlag leaned on the arm of his command chair, chin in hand, and considered which argument out of several might best persuade the Abuskat and Tarkada to join with him in an alliance.

A burst of static and loud screech broke into Gunlag's thoughts, and brought him back to full attention. "The Tarkada captain is coming onto the viewer now," said Fflam. "It will take a few moments longer to connect to the Abuskat. They'll be able to see and speak to each other as well, once I stabilize the link among our vessels." Gunlag nodded and straightened up in his throne-like command chair. The distortions on the viewscreen gradually cleared, revealing a very colorful alien on a spacious and immaculate well-lit bridge. The alien's appearance made it obvious why this species considered the ability to cloak themselves to be so vital.

The Tarkada captain was a slender humanoid, nearly two meters in height. He had varigated skin, light blue with subtle darker blue mottling. His large eyes had black irises and pupils, and were set back under a slight orbital ridge. The slope of his nose began between his eyes and ended in a blunt froglike snout with small nostrils, above a narrow, thin-lipped mouth and pointed chin. Instead of hair, the Tarkada had a sizeable crest of very long and narrow feathers, which sprouted from high up on his forehead and grew as a band to a point almost entirely down the back of his head. The feathers were a dark shade of purple, with a faint scarlet iridescent sheen when light struck them at the proper angle. They were so long that the tail of the crest trailed halfway down the Tarkada's back.

As if that was not memorable enough, the Tarkada's face and head had very distinctive markings, consisting of small, oval-shaped iridescent lavender spots. They began as a thin line at each corner of his mouth. The lines gradually widened slightly into narrow bands of spots as the markings traveled up each side of his nose and turned away from each other to follow the curve of each orbital ridge. The two bands of spots gradually widened as they traveled along just above the orbital ridges, and then widened considerably more as they swept downward, past the captain's temples and below his sculpted ear holes to meet at the back of his head, underneath the feather crest. The combination of iridescent feathers and spotted bands made it appear as if the Tarkada captain was wearing a highly stylized decorative helmet. The formal effect was enhanced by a well-tailored uniform in a complementary shade of purple. It consisted of a tunic, cuffless trousers and simple black boots. The Captain's rank was indicated down the center of the right sleeve of the tunic by several rows of braided metallic trim which ran from the top shoulder seam down to the cuffless hem. The rank marking was repeated on the left sleeve in matching rows of braid encircling the sleeve, about an inch above the hem.

The Tarkada captain had an appealing natural elegance and grace about him, something that the Magol with their bulky, troll-like, hairy bodies and porcine faces could never hope to possess. Gunlag hated him on sight.

While Gunlag was waiting for Fflam to put the other alien up on the viewer, he noticed the Tarkadan sizing up both him and his garbage-strewn bridge. The alien captain was barely able to conceal his revulsion at what he was seeing. _Good_, thought Gunlag. _That's an advantage to use against him_.

The image on the viewer flickered slightly, and then the screen split as Fflam completed the link to the Abuskat ship. The appearance of the Abuskat captain was a strong contrast to the colorful Tarkada. In a word, he was unremarkable.

The Abuskat was also a humanoid-appearing species -- plain features, androgynous, medium height, greyish skin and eyes, black hair. As androids, they were obviously designed to "blend in" and avoid calling undue attention to themselves, since they were not "alive" in the conventional organic sense, and thus did not have the advantage of the same natural instincts and emotional responses as other sentient beings. Their ship's bridge reflected their computer-like, analytical, and dispassionate nature, in that it was designed for function instead of comfort or aesthetics. The Abuskat crew wore plain, high-collared jumpsuits in neutral colors. There were no visible rank markings as such, with only the captain identified by a bronze-colored oval badge worn on the left side of his jumpsuit's high collar. Unlike the Tarkada, the Abuskat did not appear disconcerted by the appearance of either the Magol or the condition of their bridge.

Gunlag stood to address the Tarkada and Abuskat captains. "I am Gunlag, Captain of the _Herat_, and member of the the Magol Union," he said. "To whom do I have the privilege of speaking?" he asked in an unctuous tone of voice.

"Helar, of the Tarkada," said the colorful alien.

"Tarik, of the Abuskat," said the other.

"Gentlemen, I have a proposition for you," said Gunlag.

Helar was openly suspicious and said nothing, while Tarik asked, "And that would be, Captain Gunlag?"

"Join forces with me and share in the power of the map," said Gunlag. Helar began to show a little more interest than suspicion upon hearing these words. Gunlag continued, saying, "Together, we could defeat _Voyager_ and gain the map for ourselves."

"What do you propose?" asked Tarik.

"That we share our technology. Of our three vessels, the _Herat_ has weapons superiority, while you, Captain Tarik, possess superior external sensors. Captain Helar, one of my bridge officers tells me that your people have undetectable stealth technology.

"Yes, that is true," answered Helar, "but our trip through the map passageway heavily damaged our vessel. Many of the systems which support our cloaks are inoperative. Until they are functional once again, our technology is of no use to us or anyone else."

"I would also like to offer assistance with repairs to both you and Captain Tarik," said Gunlag. "The _Herat's_ metaphasic shielding protected us from the kind of severe damage sustained by both your vessels. Our own repairwork is nearly complete. My long-range instruments show that we will be traveling into an alternate dimension, and we have already begun recalibrating the _Herat's_ systems for it. I could easily send a pair of engineers over to each of you, to work alongside your repair teams to make similar adjustments. If at the same time each of you were to send me a pair of your engineers in exchange, they could work here with my crew to find a way of adapting all our systems into functioning together as a single unit toward a greater goal."

"And if the technology cannot be adapted?" asked Helar.

"Then we will work as allies to share the map," said Gunlag. "Our unique technologies would still benefit each another. Captain Janeway of _Voyager_ possesses neither the advanced sensors nor superior cloaking technology that the two of you do, but both your and Tarik's weapons are no match for hers, while mine are her ship's equal. I would pledge the protection of my metaphasic weapons once we engage _Voyager_."

"That is acceptable," said Tarik of the Abuskat. "I will dispatch Kerak and Adrick, two of my most skilled engineers. If they cannot reconcile our differing systems, then it cannot be done."

"Agreed," said Gunlag. Hoping to persuade Helar of the Tarkada to join them as well, Gunlag continued, saying, "Captain Helar, Janeway and her people are already aware of the Magols' physical appearance. None of us know if they have ever met either of your races. A Tarkadan cloaked ship together with Abuskat advanced sensor technology would give us the ability to track _Voyager _from any distance. We could closely follow her crew wherever they might go to search for the pieces of the map."

"An excellent tactic, whether our technologies can be merged or not," said Helar. "I will assign Dinsar and Dursat, the best of all my engineers, to your ship. They are twin brothers, and will work together more smoothly than any other team I could offer you. If our ship cloak cannot be adapted to the _Herat_, then we would be more than willing to share our stealth shuttlepods and personal cloaks for any away mission required to obtain the map."

"Agreeable as well," said Gunlag. He paused in thought for a moment and then said, "One further suggestion, if I may, gentlemen. Janeway possesses a high frequency weapon that she used against us as we entered the Portal."

"You are referring to the signal she broadcast, the one that we duplicated so we could also travel through the map passageway?" asked Helar.

"The same," answered Gunlag. "It rendered every Magol aboard the _Herat_ unconscious."

"We were affected as well," said Helar, "although not to the point of unconsciousness."

"The Abuskat functioned as well as ever," said Tarik, "but the frequency overloaded certain of our instruments. We are still recalibrating them."

"Then both of you understand the danger Janeway and _Voyager_ pose to all of us," said Gunlag. "I suggest we meet aboard my ship to discuss possible ways to neutralize this threat. We must also carefully formulate a plan that takes the weapon into account, in case we cannot disable it. I intend that our alliance be successful in its pursuit of the map."

The Tarkada's skin blanched to a lighter shade of blue under the darker mottling at the thought of setting foot on Gunlag's filthy ship, but he forced down his revulsion and answered, "An excellent suggestion, Captain Gunlag. As you pointed out, each of us has something to contribute, and everything to gain. We should meet once repairs are complete and the engineering teams aboard your ship have the results of the systems merging."

Tarik responded, "I will join you aboard the _Herat_ at your convenience, Captain Gunlag."

"Agreed," said Gunlag. "A member of my bridge crew will contact you at regular intervals to keep me advised on the progress of your repairs. Alert them when you have finished, and we will arrange a time to meet. Until then."

Fflam broke the connection. "Fflam, choose someone to transport with you to Helar's vessel," said Gunlag. "It is vital that we possess that cloaking technology. Find their weaknesses, assist them with their repairs, and learn as much as you can about the cloaking systems. Keep those long ears of yours well open. I want to know if they start planning to take the map for themselves." Fflam nodded.

Motioning another Essential over, Gunlag continued, "Gondag, choose a second to accompany you to the other ship. Your mission is the same as Fflam's, with one difference. Find your way into the Abuskats' computer and download a copy of their database. Once we have the map, their cultural information will allow us to target the most profitable races to plunder." Gondag acknowledged his orders with a nod, and both he and Fflam left the bridge to prepare for their missions aboard the Abuskat and Tarkada ships.

Gunlag walked over to Imot and said, "Expendable, you're to oversee the alien engineers who will be working with our crew. Make certain they get as little from us as possible. If you are stupid enough to share even the smallest part of Magol weapon or shield technology, I'll invent a new punishment protocol, just for you." Imot nodded, trembling at the thought of what awaited him if he failed. His sense of self-preservation, however, would not allow the conversation to end there.

"Captain," Imot began, "have you given any thought to the plan you will present to the alien captains once they are aboard the _Herat_?"

"No," said Gunlag, "but let me guess. You have."

"I have several ideas, but the exact plan that develops from them depends on the results of the systems merging project. Allow me to assist you in developing the tactics to steal the map from Janeway. The Map Finder gave me an advantage that we can turn against _Voyager_."

"WHAT??" shouted Gunlag. He flew into a rage and jumped out of his chair, rushing over to where Imot sat at his console. Gunlag beat Imot's head and shoulders with his fists and launched into a tirade. "You allowed that bitch to use her weapon on us when you had something that we could use against them? Only the fact that sending four of my Essentials to those aliens leaves me shorthanded keeps me from killing you where you sit."

Imot shielded himself as best he could from Gulag's blows until he could slip out from underneath them to stand and face his captain. "It wasn't that kind of advantage," said Imot. "He offered me asylum if I would help him escape to his shuttle. I pretended to go along with it so I could recapture him and turn him back over to you."

"So much for your advantage, Expendable. Is he still our prisoner?" snarled Gunlag.

"No, Captain, but we will surely cross paths again in our attempt to gain the map. Imagine me begging him to honor his word when I tell him you're threatening my life because he escaped. Once I get myself on the Map Finder's ship, I can disable it so that the Magol can recapture him and seize _Voyager_ and its captain. Is taking the map enough for you, or have you thought about how you would like to repay Janeway if you ever got your hands on her?"

"How do I know that you won't betray me, Expendable?"

"You yourself saw how the Map Finder attacked me when I wouldn't help him, just before Janeway's trickery took him from us. You've felt the pain of her treachery when she used her weapon against us. A Magol life means nothing to those vermin. I have no desire to be among creatures so despicable."

At that moment, the beeping of Imot's console interrupted the conversation. He turned away from Gunlag to answer the hail. Onslat, another Essential, relayed the message that the Abuskat and Tarkada engineers had arrived on board the _Herat_. He asked for further instructions. Gunlag watched and listened closely as the two conferred, wondering if Imot realized just how transparent his motives were. _Still_, Gunlag thought,_ the idiot has provided me_ _with worthwhile advice in the past. There must be some part of his scheme that I can use._ Imot closed the channel, and turned to Gunlag for further orders.

"Remember, Expendable, that you serve on this bridge at my pleasure, instead of at the menial labor more usual for one of your low standing," said Gunlag. "Fail me with these aliens or with any plan you hatch for my consideration, and you will no longer have a place aboard my ship. Report back with your suggestions when you have something that will not cost you your status as an Expendable." Imot tensed at the implied threat behind Gunlag's words.

Gunlag dismissed him with a wave of his hand, and watched as the Expendable left the bridge. _Imot is a fool_, he thought, _but a dangerous one. He has far too many ideas for his own good. He bears watching._

Gulag returned to his command chair to sift through the suggestions Imot had just presented to him. The thought of taking _Voyager_ and torturing Janeway appealed to him greatly, as did the prospect of getting his hands on that shapely blond creature that had come aboard the _Herat_ while he still held the Map Keeper captive. There were any number of things he would enjoy doing to her before selling her off to the highest bidder in the slave markets.

Near the sealed First Portal, several hours later:

Gunlag's _Herat_ stood ready to begin the pursuit of _Voyager_ and her arrogant captain. After several hours' assistance from Gunlag's Essentials, the Abuskat and Tarkada ships in the alliance were spaceworthy enough to get underway. The Abuskat exchange crew had upgraded the _Herat's_ external sensors nearly to the level of their own vessel. Helar's Tarkada crewmen had shown both Tarik's and Gunlag's crews a new hull polarization that would effectively mask their approach from _Voyager's _long-range scans. Both alien captains had agreed that the _Herat_, as the largest vessel and the one possessing weapons superiority, would serve as the alliance's flagship.

Imot had carried out his orders well. He made it appear as if Magol systems could be made compatible with Abuskat and Tarkada technology given enough time, and that the work could be carried out while they were underway and tracking _Voyager_ and the map. This being the case, Gunlag had no difficulty in persuading Helar and Tarik to leave their crew exchange teams aboard his ship.

Abuskat sensors were able to detect_ Voyager's_ nearly five-day-old ion trail, which had grown very faint by this time. Once Tarik's crew had extrapolated their target's most probable course, Gunlag issued the order to get underway. He greatly relished his role as leader of the alliance. He had gotten the other two crews to upgrade Magol technology without giving away any of his own. He had a workable plan to mull over and refine. Imot's suggestions were sound enough to cement the alliance for as long as necessary to serve his purpose. There was still much to be done before he would finally hold the map in his hands, but Gunlag settled back into his command chair with a strong sense of satisfaction. A smile slowly spread across his face as he thought, _There is always time for treachery._

Day 5:

On _Voyager_, Chakotay's quarters, 20:35 hours:

The command team sat together on the couch, lingering over dessert after having finished a very enjoyable and relaxing dinner. Janeway admitted to herself that Chakotay had been right about her need for a break. Her mind was much clearer now than it had been for the past several hours. Their "ship's gossip" discussion of the crew succeeded in easing the pressure which had been slowly draining the reservoir of creative energy she regularly called on to "think outside the box." Chakotay noted the difference in her demeanor and was silently grateful to B'Elanna for having mentioned the Captain's mental fatigue to him.

Toward the end of the meal, the conversation had turned to the alien maze the away team had been forced to endure a few days earlier. By dessert, the discussion had moved on to Neelix's role in protecting his crewmates from their predatory Natran abductors.

"_Taznik_... uhh...," hesitated Janeway.

"Neelix pronounced it '_tasnixia_,' Kathryn," said Chakotay. "On the surface, it appears to be a traditional simulated hunt, but it's more accurate to say _tasnixia_ is a bonding ritual which runs much deeper than that. He told me it got started before Talaxian recorded history, and has intensified with time. Over the years, the sense of family and group identity it provides has given it the urgency of a call which drives their entire society."

"He's never mentioned it," said Janeway

"That's because it's a cultural practice that is never shared with non-Talaxians, and Neelix made me promise never to discuss it. I feel as if I'm betraying his confidence, but you need to be aware of at least some of the surface characteristics for your own information. I'd appreciate it if none of this went into an official record, Kathryn."

"All right, Chakotay. I'll have to trust your judgment on this one," she said. "Why is it only limited to his people?"

"Because it takes at least two Talaxians to answer the call of Tasnixia," said Chakotay. "Non-Talaxians are almost never called on to participate, but Neelix involved me only because the situation was desperate and there were no other Talaxians present."

"So how...," Janeway began.

"The Talaxian equivalent of a mind meld, Kathryn," said Chakotay. "That alien maze brought back Neelix's childhood memories of _Tasnixia_ and renewed his sense of connection to his family. He saw the away team as a pride he had to protect at all costs, and that's what saved us. I was the only one conscious enough for him to bond with, even if I was only lucid for moments at a time."

"Was it a mind link or actually a meld?"

"A little more like Tuvok than Seven," said Chakotay. "It was nowhere near as invasive as one of Seven's mind links." Chakotay paused for a moment, searching for words, and then continued. "It's a telepathic bond, Kathryn. I guess the closest equivalent would be the type of connection Tuvok has with his wife. There's that constant sense of presence of the one you're bonded to. You know -- 'parted and never parted'... It's a perfectly normal way for a Vulcan or Talaxian to remain close to his bondmates, but I feel like I've had the privacy of my own mind ripped away. Neelix is always there, somewhere in my consciousness."

"It probably should have worn off by now," said Janeway. "It's always taken me a little while to shed the residual aftereffects of my melds with Tuvok, but that sense of connection eventually fades away. Maybe you should talk to the Doctor, Chakotay"

"There's nothing he can do for me, Kathryn," said Chakotay. "I really don't have any choice in the matter. Neelix told me _Tasnixia_ forms a permanent bond that not even death can break."

Janeway leaned over to gently rest her hand on his arm for a few moments. "I am so sorry, Chakotay," she said. "I know what your privacy means to you. I wish there'd been another way." She sat back and took another sip of her Antarian cider. She paused for a moment, and then quietly asked, "How are you adjusting?"

A comm signal interrupted the conversation before Chakotay could respond. "Tuvok to

Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"I am sorry to disturb you, Captain, but I require permission to remove Seven from her Engineering duties to assist me in astrometrics. I have just found evidence of a subspace beacon with an attached quantum encrypted file imbedded in the map. My efforts to decipher it have only yielded surface information, but Seven's Borg decryption algorithms will no doubt prove more fruitful with the deeper layers."

"Permission granted," said Janeway.

"Assuming Seven is able to successfully access the file, Captain, I estimate there will be enough raw data in approximately one half hour to begin drawing preliminary conclusions. You may wish to be present at that time."

"Agreed, Tuvok. The Commander and I will join you at 2100 hours. Janeway out."

Janeway turned to Chakotay with a grin and said, "Well, this certainly promises to put a nice cap on the evening."

"I'll say," said Chakotay. "Maybe we'll actually make it through the Second Portal and out of this godforsaken reality before we meet any more itinerant Natrans and their friends."

"Works for me," said Janeway. She took another bite of her dessert, followed by a long swallow of cider. She took a few moments to consider her words before gently turning the conversation back to Chakotay's new psychic bond with Neelix. She had gotten a strong sense of how troubled he was by it, just before Tuvok's comm signal had interrupted the conversation. Janeway was resolved to use the half hour before they were expected in astrometrics to be as present for her friend as he had been for her after the Equinox incident. She knew that Chakotay probably wouldn't discuss the finer details of something this intensely private with the Doctor. Janeway would rather have him voice his fears aloud to her sympathetic ears, than for him to have to use his personal logs to work things out alone. She settled back comfortably on the couch to listen as he began to open up.

In astrometrics, about a half hour later:

Seven and Tuvok stood at the central console, working on enhancing the resolution of an image projected onto the dome. Their adjustments were nearly complete when the doors to astrometrics hissed open and the command team entered the room.

"Finally -- our first bit of good news," said Janeway. "Report, Mr. Tuvok."

"Aye, Captain," said Tuvok. "Logic dictated that I use the astronomical data in the completed map to derive any useful information which might be contained therein. After speaking briefly to Mr. Paris, I began a perusal of the entire document to refresh my memory of it."

"Mr. Paris?" asked Janeway.

"Yes, Captain. An indistinct portion of the map caught my attention prior to beginning my study. Mr. Paris informed me that he was aware of it during his navigation to the First Portal, but chose to disregard it, as it bore no relevance to _Voyager's_ destination. It was there that an unfamiliar stellar pattern emerged, along with the subspace beacon and attached file."

Janeway glanced briefly at the dome and then picked up the map from the top of the console to examine it. The newly activated section stood out in sharp contrast against the dimmed Delta Quadrant star chart which had guided Tom Paris to the First Portal.

Seven augmented Tuvok's preliminary comments. "As you will recall, Captain, we passed through an energy ripple prior to entering the First Portal. It is my theory that this ripple triggered a time-delayed subroutine which prepared the indistinct portion of the map for reactivation once _Voyager_ had moved beyond the range of influence of the First Portal and deeper into this anomalous reality. Contact with a species possessing telepathic ability was apparently the final catalyst required to initiate the process which allowed the new information to emerge."

"Makes sense to me, Seven," said Janeway, setting the map back down on the console. Turning to Tuvok, she asked, "How exactly did you discover all of this, Tuvok?"

"As you are no doubt aware, it is my custom during meditation to focus on stellar patterns as an aid to concentration. In this instance, after having memorized the map, I chose to meditate with eyes closed to minimize distraction. When I opened my mind completely at the deepest point of concentration to discern any hidden meaning in the document, the map reached back to me on a telepathic level. Upon opening my eyes and noting the physical changes in appearance which you see, I scanned the document and discovered the subspace beacon and multilayered encrypted file."

"Did you feel an actual presence, Tuvok?" asked Chakotay.

"Yes, Commander," said Tuvok. "It was identical to the presence I sensed in Mr. Horus' hut after our journey on the River of Souls. At that time, there was a brief flash of an alien consciousness when the final two quadlets popped free of the skywall and adhered to the quadlets we had brought with us. I took it to be that of the Map Keeper."

Janeway asked, "And the subspace beacon? Explain."

"My tricorder detected an ultra high-frequency signal emanating from the map once the indistinct portion was activated. _Voyager's_ sensors will need no adjustments to detect it, nor will it render the crew unconscious should we need to broadcast it for any reason."

"A password, then," said Janeway.

"That is a distinct possibility," said Tuvok. "Curiously, the frequency differs from that which the creature emitted at the mouth of the First Portal."

"Seven? Your thoughts?" asked Janeway.

Seven looked up from the console where she was already running fractal decryption algorithms on the file. "I concur with Mr. Tuvok. If this differing frequency is indeed a password, it may indicate that each Portal has its own unique frequency to which it is responsive."

"It's probably meant as a homing beacon to lead us to the map for the next Portal as well," said Janeway.

"That is correct, Captain," said Tuvok. "The file's surface information indicated that the deeper layers contain tactical and cultural information, as well as schematics for creating a number of devices specifically designed to detect this beacon frequency. Clearly, they are meant for use in locating the quadlets of the Second Portal map. Furthermore, the file contains the precise coordinates for Nardonia. It is an M-class planetoid orbiting a G-class yellow star, second of five planets in the Denadis system. The file indicates that the first quadlet of the Second Portal map is concealed somewhere in Nardonia's central marketplace."

"Distance?" asked Janeway.

"Approximately one and one half days travel at impulse from our current position," said Tuvok. "According to the limited data I was able to decrypt, the planetoid is a major trading outpost for this sector, as it lies along several well-traveled cargo routes. It is a logical place to conceal a map in plain view without calling undue attention to its presence."

Seven changed the subject, saying, "Captain, we were about to compare my earlier scan data with the newly emerged map information when you and Commander Chakotay joined us."

Everyone turned their attention to the display projected onto the dome. Seven continued, saying, "The image you see comes from the final astrometrics scan before the sensors ceased to function properly. It is a representation of the area where Nardonia is located, based on the coordinates given in the map. It does not resemble any Delta Quadrant phenomena recorded on long-range sensors prior to _Voyager's_ entering the First Portal."

She overlaid the image on the dome with another stellar pattern indicated in red. Seven said, "This is taken from the reactivated map portion.As you can see, the patterns do not precisely coincide. However, if I compensate for the most likely patterns of stellar drift, this is the present day position of the phenomena indicated by the newly activated data."They watched as the two differing patterns slowly came into perfect alignment. Seven said, "Extrapolating backward to the original astronomical position shown in the map, I would estimate the map's age to be at least two millennia, if not slightly older."

Tuvok picked up the discussion, saying, "There is clear evidence, however, that it is possible to access the data file information separately from the newly emerged star chart. The data file appears to have been carefully maintained to be up-to-date regarding cultural matters, but I would advise using a high-resolution Class V reconnaissance probe to gather information about the population's dress and appearance before an away team beams down, just to be certain."

"Agreed, Tuvok," said Janeway. "I'll leave that to your discretion once we're in orbit of Nardonia. Keep me informed."

"Acknowledged," said Tuvok. He hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I am intrigued, however..."

Janeway nodded for him to continue.

"There is no apparent reason indicated in the file for not updating the stellar information as well. Assuming Seven's extrapolation is correct, then this document dates roughly from Surak's era and the Time of Awakening."

"The age of the map is a minor issue right now, Tuvok," said Janeway. "We need to focus instead on mounting an away mission to Nardonia.Seven, continue with your decryption. Once you've finished, turn the results over to Tuvok for analysis and then resume your work on reconfiguring the astrometric sensors for this reality. We'll need to verify the planetoid's coordinates on instruments before we can get underway. Tom is nearly recovered, so I'll assign him to assist B'Elanna with clearing up the navigation sensors."

"Acknowledged," said Seven.

Janeway turned to Tuvok and said, "I want a full report on the encrypted file by 0930 hours, along with your recommendations." Tuvok nodded.

The Captain turned and left Astrometrics with Chakotay. Once they were in the corridor, Janeway said," Computer, locate Mortimer Harren."

"Mortimer Harren is on Deck 15, plasma relay Section, junction room 16," responded the computer.

Seeing the expression on Chakotay's face, Janeway said, "Oh, don't look so surprised. I've decided to take your suggestion."

"Making another attempt to lure one of Voyager's lost sheep back into the fold, Kathryn?" asked Chakotay.

"It's worth a shot. I have a much more interesting carrot than a routine survey mission this time," said Janeway. "Considering this is unknown space, Seven may be able to make use of Harren's theoretical input to help with the astrometric sensors."

They reached the turbolift. Chakotay pressed the call button and said, "I'll get the next one, Kathryn. The Doctor wants me resting in my quarters, but I've got a few things to settle with Neelix first before I'll be comfortable enough in my own skin to rest. I'll use the waiting time to think over what I need to say to him."

Remembering their after dinner discussion of Chakotay's bond with Neelix, Janeway said, "I don't imagine either one of us is going to have an easy time of it, Chakotay. Want to compare notes over breakfast?"

"You're on," Chakotay said as the turbolift arrived and Janeway stepped on. Just as the doors were closing and before she could state her destination to the computer, Chakotay smirked and called out, "Have fun!" The doors snapped shut on Janeway's wry smile.

Deck 15, a few minutes later:

Deck 15 was just as dark and claustrophobic as Janeway remembered from her last visit there quite some time ago to recruit Mortimer Harren for a routine away mission. When the Captain stepped off the turbolift, she saw Crewman Mitchell studying data on the plasma relay console at the opposite end of the corridor. He glanced up as she approached, but before he could call out "Captain on deck," Janeway raised her hand and smiled, saying, "At ease, Crewman Mitchell." Mitchell returned the smile and nodded.

Janeway turned left at the console and easily found her way to junction room 16. Before entering to speak to Harren, she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, mentally gritted her teeth, and reminded herself to keep smiling. She was determined not to let the man get under her skin.

Janeway's appearance startled Mortimer Harren out of his total absorption in the padd resting in front of him on the console at which he sat. He recovered quickly, however, and his face immediately took on the smug expression of condescension it habitually wore. He said, "Why, Captain! Recruiting crewmembers for another away mission?"

Janeway replied, "Actually, Crewman, I'm looking for a pure theorist in quantum cosmology. Know any?"

Harren's face showed a spark of interest. He said, "I might."

"I'm sure you're aware of our problems with the astrometric and navigation sensors," said Janeway. Harren nodded. "You've probably also heard that we're in alternate space. If you've spent any time looking at the sky outside your viewport, then you know it's a lot wilder than anything you've ever seen over Vico 5."

"And what does that have to do with me?" asked Harren.

"We need your theoretical expertise, Mr. Harren. Lieutenant Torres has run every stellar model in the database and Seven even added a few from her time as a Borg, but they're both stumped."

"I understand your doctorate was in quantum cosmology, Captain," said Harren. "Surely you're more than qualified to assist them in resolving their impasse."

Janeway was about to roll her eyes in frustration at the man's deliberate obtuseness, but caught herself before she spoke. "Admiral Paris considered me a gifted theoretician when I was his science officer on the Al-Batani, but switching to the command track required me to focus on more practical concerns, Crewman. I _have_ been assisting B'Elanna and Seven, but what's needed here is fresh ideas, and you're the most qualified theorist we've got. Quite frankly, Mr. Harren, I'm a little rusty." She paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in, and then asked, "How much do you know about the way we ended up in alternate space?"

"I've heard some talk about a map and a wormhole."

"Close enough," said Janeway. "We do have part of a map which promises to considerably shorten our trip back to the Alpha Quadrant. We need to assemble it piece by piece as we go. As we complete each portion of the map, it will reveal the location of another portal that will take us much closer to Earth than if we continue our journey by more conventional means."

"Don't you find it a little convenient that after all this time in the Delta Quadrant, _Voyager's_ crew comes across a map which will get us home that easily?" asked Harren. "Is it genuine?"

"Oh, it's real, all right. You wouldn't ask that if you'd seen how it works," said Janeway. Harren appeared even more interested after hearing the Captain's answer to his question. Janeway continued. "We can't even begin to look for the next part of it until we've resolved the astrometric and navigation sensor problems. That's where you come in." She paused and waited for his response. It was her turn to be a little obtuse.

"How so?" asked Harren, after a few moments consideration.

"As I told you, we've tried every stellar model we know, with no results. Something in this alternate space is affecting the sensors, and we need a new approach to solve the problem. You've made it abundantly clear in the past that you don't care to put theory into practice, but you could leave that aspect to Lieutenant Torres and her team. If you can find what we've managed to overlook, they can come up with the practical applications."

"Do you honestly believe this map can get us back to the Alpha Quadrant?"

"I'm certain of it. This mission has its dangers, but if _Voyager_ can pass through the remaining twelve portals, we'll cut decades off our journey," said Janeway. She paused to let that statement sink in, and then said, "Let me assure you, Mr. Harren -- by the time you've finished helping astrometrics find a stable reference for this dimensional reality and any other alternate space we may come across, you'll have more than enough practical field experience to teach at the Institute of Cosmology on Orion One once we're back home."

"This trip could still take years, Captain," said Harren. Even with the kind of field experience you're describing, my current education would be even more hopelessly out of date than it is now. I'd be spending all my time in remedial coursework, not teaching."

"Six months is the timeframe we're looking at here, Mr. Harren. I've kept that quiet because I don'twantto stir up false hope_._ Surely you of all people can imagine everything that could go wrong."

"Staying on track for a six-month's journey would require finding and getting through the remaining portals in an extremely timely fashion," said Harren.

"At the very least. That alone is quite a challenge," said Janeway.

"Then perhaps I should get started creating my first theoretical model," said Harren.

Janeway nodded and tapped her communicator. "Janeway to Ensign Culhane."

"Culhane here."

"Please report to deck 15, junction room 16 to cover the remainder of Crewman Harren's shift, and all of his duty assignments until further notice. He has been temporarily reassigned to a special project on my authorization," said Janeway.

"Acknowledged," reponded Ensign Culhane.

While they waited for his replacement to arrive, Janeway began discussing a few of the peculiarities of the map with Harren. Once the station was covered, they started for the turbolift.

Back in astrometrics:

"The map reached out to you?" asked Seven, as she and Tuvok worked side by side.

"Yes. It was a most peculiar, yet not unsettling experience," said Tuvok. "I placed my hand on the map at the moment I attempted to discern any hidden data, and for an instant, I felt as though I was back in the Map Keeper's hut, searching the skywall for the remaining quadlets and surreptitiously watching Horus converse with Icheb."

Seven's ocular implant rose slightly in surprise. Her experiences with flashbacks had all proven to be very painful. Tuvok continued. "When I saw the revised appearance of the map, I realized that interaction on a telepathic level would be unnecessary if the only information to be conveyed was that which I saw before me. I scanned the map with my tricorder and discovered the beacon and file."

Seven sighed and then said, "I wish the boy was here again to assist us, even if only for a brief time. He has a rare gift for astronomy."

"Evidently the Map Keeper thought so as well," said Tuvok. "Perhaps we will meet Icheb once more during our journey. He did return to warn us regarding the Magol. His function in all of this may be that of an advisor."

"Perhaps, but I feel it unlikely that we will see him again. He cannot pass through the Portals." She began, "Still..."

At that moment, the doors to astrometrics opened, and Janeway entered the room with Mortimer Harren in tow. Seven's face once again showed her surprise as she asked, "Captain?"

"Just bringing you some reinforcements, Seven. This seems like a good time to make use of Mr. Harren's advanced theoretical knowledge."

"I concur," said Seven. "Mr. Harren's expertise has never been properly utilized aboard _Voyager_. He may assist me with my sensor project, since the imbedded file is now fully decrypted. Commander Tuvok has already begun his analysis."

"Well, then I'll leave the three of you to your work," said Janeway. She turned and left astrometrics for her quarters, confident in the trio's ability to find a working solution to the puzzle of Second Portal space.


	4. Act 2

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Act 2**

Day 6:

In the Briefing Room, 1107 hours:

Tuvok was just finishing a broad overview of his map data analysis when Seven entered the briefing room with Mortimer Harren. "My apologies for our late arrival, Captain. Mr. Harren insisted upon rechecking his calculations. He has made a discovery of considerable significance, and wished to be absolutely certain of his data before presenting it to the senior staff."

"I'll excuse it, Seven," said Janeway.

Seven glanced over at Tuvok to see if he had anything further to say, but he inclined his head and gestured for her to proceed. Seven turned to Harren and said, "Crewman Harren, now would be an appropriate time for you to present your findings."

Harren walked over to the systems operations wall monitor. It already displayed the star chart from the previous evening's session in astrometrics, since Tuvok had been using it to indicate the position of Nardonia during his overview of the map data. Harren tapped a few controls to broaden the view to include the entire sector. He tapped a few more controls to overlay various elements of the star chart with several very complex formulas and a schematic. He turned to Janeway and said, "Just thought the senior staff might like to see how I arrived at my conclusions, Captain," Harren said. B'Elanna Torres glanced at Tom Paris and rolled her eyes just enough for him to see. Harry Kim noticed as well and bowed his head slightly to stare at the table, trying his best to conceal a smile. Harren, of course, was oblivious to Torres's silent opinion of his comment and Kim's amusement.

"Thank you, Mr. Harren," Janeway said. "Proceed."

He acknowledged the Captain with a nod, and continued his presentation. "As you requested, I busied myself with Seven's astronomic data in order to find the theoretical center of this spatial reality_._ The calculations were so simple that the task at hand was easily accomplished. However, I noticed a few irregularities during the process, which led me to a deduction of considerably more importance."

"And that would be...," said Tuvok.

"Constructing an additional theoretical model revealed that subspace functions identically in both this alternate reality and normal space. All of _Voyager's_ technology that relies on subspace will function normally in this dimension, once engineering finds the practical application for my calculations."

By this time, everyone around the briefing room table had straightened up and begun to pay much closer attention to Harren's presentation. "Furthermore," he continued, "it may eventually be possible to get a point of reference relative to our former position in the Delta Quadrant by using subspace as a conduit between normal space and this alternate dimension."

"You're telling us then that subspace links the two realities," said Harry Kim.

"Correct, Ensign," responded Harren. "I need considerably more data before I can formulate a model for how it might be accomplished, but the possibility is there. If we are able to create a stable subspace connection between normal space and this dimension, it may also be possible to reestablish the datastream link to the Pathfinder Project. That could prove useful, should _Voyager_ be forced to remain in Second Portal space for any great length of time."

"We're hoping our stay here will be brief, Mr. Harren, but I would appreciate any effort you can make toward achieving that goal," said Janeway.

"Of course, Captain. At the very least, a link back to Pathfinder would also allow _Voyager_ to receive Federation Timebase Beacon information. Seven has advised me that passing through the remaining portals may involve additional travel through alternate dimensions. If the ship repeatedly encounters temporal distortions, establishing that subspace link may become vital at some point.

"Agreed, Crewman," said Janeway. "Consider the project yours."

"Acknowledged."

At this point, Seven spoke up. "Mr. Harren advised me that it is crucial we follow the map exactly."

Harren jumped back into the conversation immediately with a further explanation. "My results show there is a slight possibility that this anomalous space will continue to skew data, despite any sensor modifications. Second Portal space folds back on itself temporally and spatially in a very peculiar way, so it's important not be misled by an occasional contradictory reading. _Voyager_ will be fine as long as you follow the map with precise reference to the theoretical center which I've located. It's the only constant in this reality."

"Thank you for the warning, Mr. Harren. Your findings confirm the information we were given when we acquired the map," said Janeway. "We'll pay special attention to how our modified sensors function once we are underway, but as you know, what constitutes an anomalous reading could depend on the type of work-around engineering devises. We may have further need of your services."

Harren nodded his acknowledgement, and then said, "Speaking of engineering, I've taken the liberty of creating several additional models that should enable Lieutenant Torres and her teams to get _Voyager's_ sensor technology and warp core up and running again."

He handed Torres a padd, and turned to address her directly. "This contains a summary of my findings, all formulas used to derive my conclusions, plus the additional models. I've streamlined everything down to a level the rest of the engineering staff can understand. They should be able to implement any modifications to the navigational sensors and warp core assembly you might require," Harren said. "I am, of course, available for additional clarification."

Torres briefly scrolled through the padd, with Tom Paris looking over her shoulder to read it as well. She was impressed with the work, but wore a sullen expression on her face while she inwardly fumed. Although Harren was assigned to her department, he obviously didn't consider himself a part of it. She deeply resented what she felt to be his deliberate slur on her staff's ability. After a few moments spent glancing through the data, she looked up and grudgingly thanked him. Paris took the padd from her and began to study it in more depth.

"Thank you for your initiative, Mr. Harren," Janeway said. "It's greatly appreciated."

Harren's face lit up with the first genuine smile Janeway could ever remember having seen from him. "My pleasure, Captain. If I'm finished here, I'd like to return to my station to determine what data I will need to construct models for the subspace link we discussed."

"Certainly, Mr. Harren. You're dismissed," said Janeway.

Harren left by the corridor opposite the viewports. The entire senior staff waited in silence for a few moments until they heard the doors hiss shut behind him.

Torres was the first to speak. Turning to Seven, she said, "Seven, how did you ever put up with that arrogant p'tahk without killing him? You can borrow my favorite hyperspanner to readjust his attitude the next time you're stuck working with him."

"Crewman Harren's attitude is irrelevant," said Seven. "As I never assimilated any theoretical quantum cosmologists with his level of expertise while in the Collective, his unique perspective was invaluable." Torres sat back with a disgusted sigh and rolled her eyes at Seven's comments.

Janeway said, "I didn't like having to ask Harren for his input either, B'Elanna, but we were out of ideas." With a twinkle in her eye, she continued, saying, "Hold off for now on lending Seven that hyperspanner until we see what your team can come up with." The undercurrent of amusement in her voice elicited chuckles from everyone around the table, and a mischievous smirk from Torres. Janeway let a moment go by, and then asked, "Status of the propulsion system?"

Torres' face became serious once again as she replied, "Engineering is implementing a possible solution to give us better control over maneuvering thrusters as we speak." She gestured toward the padd in Tom's hand and said, "A quick glance at Harren's work tells me we should have impulse power back fairly quickly, but it'll take at least a week to devise and test new subroutines for warp. In either case, we'll still need the navigation sensors back online before we can go anywhere."

"Speaking of which, any progress in that area?" asked Janeway. "I'd like to get underway as soon as possible, even if it's only at impulse."

Tom gestured with the padd for Janeway's attention.

"Yes, Mr. Paris?"

"Captain, if I may?I have an idea I'd like to run past you."

"Let's have it," Janeway said.

"Well," said Paris, "think of it as a Galaxy-class solution to an Intrepid-class problem."

"Go on."

"Just a minute, Tom," said Neelix. "You've lost me."

Janeway opened her mouth to give Neelix an explanation, but Kim said, "Let me, Captain. I think I know where Tom's headed with this." Kim turned to address the Talaxian and said, "Neelix, _Voyager_ was specifically designed as a 'troubleshooter' vessel for short-term reconnaissance missions like the one to track down Chakotay's ship in the Badlands. She's fast and maneuverable, but doesn't have the same kind of advanced technology routinely installed on the large Galaxy-class ships of exploration to compensate for the temporal and spatial anomalies found in deep space. Unless I'm mistaken, Tom's about to suggest a retrofit."

"You read my mind, Harry," said Paris. "The problem here isn't alternate space so much asit's us." He scrolled the padd as he spoke, and paused it occasionally to tap in a few annotations for himself. "According to Harren's calculations, _Voyager's_ fractionally out of phase with Second Portal space. I think we can adjust for the variance, but it's complicated."

"How many double shifts is my department going to have to work?" asked Torres.

Tom shot a quick glance in Torres' direction, but continued to address his comments to Janeway. "I would start by installing dedicated phase discriminators on the hull that would generate a localized subspace forcefield around the external navigational sensors."

Kim said, "The fields those discriminators generate might not be powerful enough to offset the effects of this space for a project this size."

"That's why we'd be installing a set of dedicated field emitters at the same time. Follow along with me on this, Harry," said Paris. We use Harren's data to reconfigure the phase discriminators' subspace emitters to compensate for the variance, amplify and piggyback the resulting field onto a regular shield signal, and then route it through the dedicated emitters. It'll work just like a regular shield, but with the added benefit of protecting the sensors from this space," he said."Remember -- we're talking about a very narrow grid here, just big enough to surround and isolate the nav sensors from Second Portal space. Once that's taken care of, engineering could go ahead and recalibrate them."

"You'd probably need a retrofit in the Jeffries tubes as well to bring the internal nav ODN lines and relays into alignment," said Kim.

"Right," responded Paris. He directed his attention back to Janeway and said, "Actually, we'd need to isolate any navigation-related technology from Second Portal space to clear up the helm readings. It's a non-regulation solution, Captain, but I think it could work." Torres reached over and took the padd back from Paris. She began to study it more closely.

The Doctor entered the discussion at this point. "Along similar lines, Captain, we need to do something to protect the crew from this dimension as well," he said. "I'm already seeing an increased number of patients complaining of headaches, difficulty concentrating, and insomnia -- all classic symptoms of prolonged exposure to spatial anomalies."

"How bad is it, Doctor?" Janeway asked.

"Manageable for now, but it won't be for very much longer. I can formulate an inoculant, but as a short-term treatment only. Two weeks at the outside, and the crew runs the risk of debilitating side effects from the buildup of medication in their systems, even if it's closely monitored."

Tom jumped back into the discussion with another suggestion. "Why don't we enlarge the scope of the nav sensor project by installing phase discriminators on the entire hull? We could project the subspace forcefield around the entire ship and recalibrate it for Second Portal space. When we make the adjustment for the spatial variance, it should protect the crew. You'd also be clearing up any related issues associated with the bio-neural circuitry, and it would probably help with the warp field problems."

Janeway turned to Torres and asked, "B'Elanna?"

"It should work. I've seen schematics in the engineering database for everything we'd need."

Janeway noted the unspoken reservations in Torres' voice. "I hear a 'but'," she said.

"Engineering can fabricate and install enough phase technology internally and externally to solve the navigation sensor problem," said Torres. "A larger installation on the entire hull and maybe throughout the ship? I don't know. We're already stretched pretty thin between the sensor and warp projects. I'm concerned about depleting our raw material and energy reserves so quickly. We've still made no headway on getting out of Second Portal space, even with the new map information."

"What if we could find something for you to adapt on Nardonia?" asked Janeway. "It would preserve your stockpile, and speed up a retrofit as well."

"Tuvok's analysis of the map data did say that Nardonia is a major trading outpost in this sector," said Chakotay. "Obviously, the species native to this space already have the technology to function in it."

Tom responded, "Good point. I'm sure an away team could locate anything we need. We just have to get there."

Janeway turned to Torres with a questioning glance. Torres said, "It's the best idea I've heard so far, Captain. One of the factors preventing us from maintaining a stable warp field is the intensity level of the tachyon eddies in Second Portal space. Harren has given us a usable work-around, but the core would be back online a lot sooner if I had something to adapt that can already compensate for it."

"Agreed," said Janeway. "Start with the modifications to the nav systems so we can 'get there,' as Mr. Paris so colorfully put it, and add the astrometrics sensors to your list. We'll need to scan Nardonia from a distance before undertaking any away mission, and I'm sure Tactical would like to keep a long-range eye on the Magol ship's whereabouts as well. How soon can you have everything in place?"

"If I pull people off other assigned duties, the subspace forcefields can be in place in roughly eight hours," said Torres. "My team will need at least another two to recalibrate and test everything, and then we can get underway at impulse."

"Do it," said Janeway. "You're authorized to recruit anyone with an engineering clearance high enough to be useful on this project. I want your other team working to get the core back online. Nardonia is about a day and a half away at maximum impulse, so that should give them plenty of time to make headway on the new subroutines for warp."

"They'll have to rewrite code for those subroutines if the away team brings back anything I can adapt, but you're right," said Torres. "We could still use the head start."

"I'll consider authorizing the larger retrofit once we see what the away team finds," said Janeway. She then turned to the EMH and said, "Doctor, get started on that inoculant. I'll take the two weeks of crew efficiency it'll give us, in case nothing B'Elanna can use turns up on Nardonia. If comes down to that, we'll need the full crew available to follow any leads we get for other sources." The Doctor nodded.

Tuvok chose this moment to turn the focus of the discussion back to the away mission itself. "Captain, Eyfrod's warning about the unfriendly nature of Second Portal space deeply concerns me. The civilization the away team encountered on Natra was composed of several spacefaring races, some of whom we may possibly encounter on Nardonia." He looked very pointedly at Neelix and then said, "The encrypted file offers no detailed information on the Nardonian legal system. If our experience on Natra is any indication, it would be safe to assume that the merchants in Nardonia's marketplace will be equally suspicious and given to hostility if pressured or challenged." Tuvok's comment made Neelix very uncomfortable, but the Talaxian remained silent. Tuvok continued, saying, "It is my understanding that the Natrans tried to pass through the Second Portal and failed. We may encounter them as well as others searching for the map, though not necessarily openly so. I remind you as well that while on Abras, the away team was circumspect in its search for the remainder of the First Portal map, but eight ships left that planet's orbit to follow _Voyager_ when we set out for the First Portal. Quite obviously, we were closely observed."

Janeway opened up Tuvok's comments to general discussion by the assembled staff by saying, "I'm with Tuvok on this. It's going to be nearly impossible to keep our search for the map in Second Portal space entirely secret, but the away team does need to avoid drawing the same level of attention this time around. We're operating in an alternate reality with compromised systems. It's a safe bet that the Magol are looking for _Voyager_ and the map as well."

"Agreed, Captain," Chakotay said. "We'll have to limit our 'official' dealings on Nardonia to food and 'replacement parts' only, if we're going look as though our only purpose is simple resupply. Raw materials to fabricate additional components may have to wait."

Before Janeway could respond to Chakotay's comment, Neelix made a suggestion. "Captain, why not take my ship down to Nardonia?" he asked. "_Baxial_ would be much less conspicuous than a nice, shiny Federation ship like the _Delta_ _Flyer_."

"He's right," said Torres. "Even if the away team used a Class 8 or 9 shuttle instead of the _Flyer_, it would still be pretty obvious they've come from a larger ship. Neelix's freighter is self-contained. It's at least conceivable that the crew using it could be on a small deep space mission of exploration -- a group of stellar cartographers, maybe, surveying and mapping new systems, or anthropologists doing field studies on cultures unfamiliar to them. Either one would work as the away team's cover."

"If we combine both scenarios, it would give the away team enough latitude to ask a wider range of questions once we're on the surface," said Chakotay. "I'd be willing to play the part of the anthropologist."

"I thought you might," said Janeway with a smile. "Tuvok, you'll be our stellar cartographer. Neelix, pilot _Baxial_ to Nardonia and then pose as a cultural documentarian, in case anyone questions you. Once you've arrived and secured the ship, join the away team and head for the market. It should appear as though one of your most immediate duties is to restock food supplies, but what I really need you to do is to circulate and keep your ears open for any information we can use in Second Portal space." With a quick glance at Tuvok, she said, "Leave the negotiations for anything other than food to the rest of the away team."

"Understood, Captain. I won't let you down," said Neelix. Fortunately, his attention was focused entirely on Janeway. Neelix didn't see Paris and Chakotay make eye contact when they realized there would be no repeat of the marketplace fiasco on Natra, nor did he see the expression of obvious relief that crossed both his crewmates' faces.

Janeway turned to Paris and said, "Tom..."

"Let me guess," said Paris. "Backup pilot and all-around engineering guy."

"Right," said Janeway. "Your mission focus is on finding anything that B'Elanna can adapt to get the core back online or do the retrofit you suggested."

"You got it, Captain."

Seven began, "Captain..."

Janeway cut her off. "I need you here, Seven. Work on getting the astrometrics sensors back up and running, and once you've accomplished that, join the team working on the warp core project. They'll need your expertise to interpret Harren's models. We probably won't find the entire map at once, so you'll have another chance for an away mission later."

"As you wish, Captain," responded Seven.

"Tuvok, we still need to discuss the technological contents of the encrypted file," said Janeway. She turned to the EMH and said, "Doctor, you might want to pay close attention here. This aspect of the away mission will require your special skills."

"Of course, Captain. I'm at your service," said the EMH.

Tuvok stood and walked over to the systems operations wall monitor. The Doctor joined him, and positioned himself on the opposite side of the monitor from the Vulcan. Tuvok called up a schematic display and began his discussion of the technology meant to aid the away team in their search for the map.

"There are two locators for which the file gives detailed schematics and instructions," said Tuvok. "Both are designed to detect a specific subspace beacon frequency, but one device has functional aspects in common with your medical instrumentation, Doctor."

"How so?" asked the Doctor.

"The first locator is a miniaturized verification transceiver, which is to be implanted in the fleshy pad of the wearer's index fingertip. Simple physical contact with an object that appears to be part of the map is all that is required to transmit the beacon frequency. A genuine quadlet has an imbedded transceiving node which this signal will then activate, causing it to return a verification response by telepathic means. Obviously, I am the logical individual to have the device implanted."

"Just as B'Elanna would obviously be the logical individual to assist you with this. I'm a doctor, not an engineer, or a telepath, for that matter," grumbled the EMH.

"Ordinarily, I would agree with you, Doctor," said Tuvok, "but in order to elicit the desired verification response, the transceiver must be calibrated to match the specific user's brain wave pattern. That pattern is broadcast together with the beacon frequency during the initial physical contact. The encrypted file we discovered in the map indicated that this process allows the quadlet's node to 'sense' when a living telepathic being is present to receive the verification, as opposed to a sophisticated mechanical scanning device. Clearly, this safeguard was designed to impede non-telepaths with opportunistic motives from extracting information from the map by artificial means."

"It sounds almost as though you're saying this map is sentient," said Kim.

"Pre-sentient, perhaps, Ensign, but certainly with an intelligence directing its movements," said Tuvok, "My working hypothesis posits that the map is a benign form of psionic resonator, which is telepathically controlled by a guild of Map Keepers and their assistants, solely for the purpose of keeping it out of the wrong hands."

"That's a lot of trouble to go to for just a map," said the Doctor.

"Although I have insufficient data at present to be certain, Doctor, it does appear that this map is far more than a mere schematic indicating the location of thirteen portals leading back to the other side of the galaxy," said Tuvok. "Thus, the need for the secrecy of telepathic verification."

"Very well," said the Doctor. "And the second locator?"

"Your assistance will not be required for this one, other than to affix it to the wearer's skin," said Tuvok. "It is a simple homing device. The quadlet's transceiving node broadcasts the beacon frequency as well, which causes the locator to vibrate with growing intensity as the wearer approaches it. This instrument is designed to be worn by a non-telepath, concealed under clothing. Given that Mr. Chakotay is the designated Map Finder, he is the logical individual to wear this locator."

Neelix interrupted at this point, saying, "Commander Chakotay will have his tricorder with him, Mr. Vulcan. It seems to me that a 'cultural documentarian' such as myself, who would be circulating much more widely than an 'anthropologist,' is the more 'logical' choice to wear it."

Tuvok fixed Neelix with a penetrating gaze. "It is not, Mr. Neelix" he said, in a tone of voice that brooked no dissent. "Commander Chakotay's designation as Map Finder has already made him the focus of hostile and aggressive attention. The open use of a tricorder, or indeed any scanning device, would draw unwanted attention both to himself and the away team, particularly if there are others already on Nardonia searching for the map."

"Neelix, I have to agree with Tuvok," Janeway said. "Concentrate on your mission assignment as given. Your talent for drawing people out will be much more valuable to us than if you were directly involved with finding the map. See what you can learn about the people or places we may come into contact with, and let the rest of the away team handle finding the map."

A defensive Neelix said, "All right, Captain." He paused for a moment and then added, "I was just trying to help."

Before Janeway could respond with a few words to smooth over Neelix's discomfort, Tom Paris spoke up. He said, "While I'm thinking about it, Captain, there's a couple of things that need to be worked out before we leave on this mission."

"Such as?" asked Janeway.

"Well, for starters, _Baxial's_ navigation system has to be retrofitted to compensate for the phase variance, and the impulse drive recalibrated before anyone can pilot it down to Nardonia. It's a pretty straightforward job -- I volunteer myself and my good friend, Harry Kim."

"Thanks, Tom," said Kim.

Paris was about respond to Kim's sarcastic tone with a quip, when Janeway cut him off by saying, "Agreed. What else?"

"Well, I'm a little concerned about our safety since we're not going to use our technology openly. I guess that means communicators, too. How are we going to stay in touch with each other or _Voyager_ in case we're affected by this space or get into trouble once we're down there?"

"We were just getting to that, Mr. Paris."

"Captain, I think I have a solution, or at least part of one," said Torres. "I'm assuming you're going to have the Doctor implant subdermal transponders so the team members can communicate with each other." Janeway nodded. "That also covers transport, but I'm going to suggest the away team wear emergency transporter armbands under their shirt sleeves as a backup. The armbands contain a type-7 phase discriminator. We can use it to put a skintight isolation field around each team member to protect them from Second Portal space, and I can also give everyone the option to redirect communications through the armbands if necessary."

"All right," said Janeway. "Precautions?"

"Just one, Captain, and it's relatively minor. An isolation field that narrow will allow the team to handle and manipulate objects in Second Portal space, but they should be careful about prolonged physical contact with anyone in the marketplace. A really strong physical connection with another person could discharge the field. Our phase variance with Second Portal space is small enough so that if that happens, the effects will be unpleasant, but not life-threatening. It _would_ definitely attract some of that attention you're trying to avoid, though."

"Can you give the away team an option to turn the field off if they need to?" asked Janeway. Torres nodded. "Then do it. I'd rather not have the team forced to rely solely on an inoculant to function away from the ship," said Janeway. She turned to the EMH and said, "No offense, Doctor, but scans from orbit and encrypted files only tell you so much."

"None taken, Captain," said the Doctor. "Better safe than sorry, I always say."

"Captain, I'll have Vorik replicate and calibrate the armbands once the modifications to the navigation systems are complete," Torres said. "It shouldn't hold us up on anything else."

"Then I'll leave the timing of that in your capable hands, B'Elanna," said Janeway. Turning to the EMH, she said, "Doctor, please have subdermal transponders ready to be implanted in the away team before they leave. They should have both options in case they need to call for an emergency beamout."

"Agreed, Captain," said the Doctor.

Tuvok said, "Might I remind everyone that three vesselscame through the First Portal with us? There is a strong likelihood that the Magol will stalk our away team, and presumably individuals from the other two ships as well. There is nothing in _Voyager's_ database to match the configuration of the unknown vessels, so we have no information regarding which species command them. The away team must remain vigilant at all times."

"Understood," said Chakotay.

Janeway said, "We'll keep the subdermal transponders implanted in the away team until the entire map has been retrieved. _Voyager _will also remain at continuous yellow alert until we are safely through the Second Portal."

"I concur. That is a prudent course of action," said Tuvok.

"Captain," said Seven, "It would be unwise to assume that we alone know that subspace connects Second Portal space and normal space. There may be other interdimensional rifts besides the Portal. Any species developed enough to navigate that route and possessing highly advanced communications technology capable of exploiting the dimensional link could have alerted contacts in this region with information about _Voyager_ and its role in moving the map."

Harry Kim spoke up. "So what you're saying is that the natives on this planet might already know we're looking for the map before we even arrive. That's just great. The away team isn't supposed to use their tricorders or communicators, but they could be walking into a trap."

"That is a distinct possibility, Ensign," said Tuvok. "While we were still in Eyford's shop on Abras, he warned the Captain that there would be many willing to kill for possession of the map and the power it confers. These individuals could launch a direct assault themselves, or perhaps enlist the aid of mercenaries more interested in immediate financial gain than in possessing the map. On the other hand, they might simply observe the away team's movements for a later attack under what they would consider to be more favorable circumstances."

"In that case," said Seven, "Commander Chakotay should be implanted with a miniaturized interlink cortical transmitter, and I should maintain a mind link with him at all times. He is, as you pointed out, the natural focus of aggression as the Map Finder."

Chakotay became noticably uncomfortable at the prospect of a continuous mind link with Seven of Nine. "I don't think that will be necessary, Seven," he said. "This isn't a rescue mission, and I'll personally see to it that it doesn't become one."

"Be that as it may, Commander," said Tuvok, "we may encounter conditions on the surface which could interfere with communications or transport using the subdermal transponders or armbands. Since Borg interlink frequencies directly permeate subspace, this would allow us to communicate with you and beam you away through subspace if necessary. It is for your own protection."

Tom Paris couldn't resist the opportunity the topic presented to needle the First Officer. Paris turned to him and said, "Well, let's see what we've got here, Chakotay." Paris counted them off on his fingers as he said, "A phase discriminator on an armband under your sleeve, a concealed beacon locator, an implanted subdermal transponder and Borg interlink transmitter. Oh no," he said, drawing out the last syllable. "Those won't attract much attention. We'll just be sure not to let you walk through any Nardonian metal detectors," he said with a knowing smirk. "You won't set off any alarms."

Torres and Kim both struggled to keep a straight face. Seven and the Doctor scowled. Neelix made a mental note to ask Tom later about what sounded like some kind of obsolete technology. Tuvok began, "_Mr. _Paris...," but it was Janeway's glare that cut off any further needling. Paris looked a little embarrassed that his joke had fallen so flat, and apologized to Chakotay.

"I'll authorize the interlink transmitter," said Janeway. Turning to Chakotay, she said, "Sorry, Commander, but it's a necessary precaution." She then stood and addressed the entire group. "We'll finalize the details of this mission once we arrive at Nardonia. If there's nothing further, you're all dismissed."

The staff left the briefing room, with the exception of Chakotay, whose face betrayed his continuing unease. When Janeway saw that he had made no move to stand and leave with the others, she remained behind to discuss what she knew was on his mind. She came around the end of the table and sat on the edge to his left. Resting her hand on the table and leaning in toward him, she said, "Let me guess, Chakotay. You'd rather go ten rounds with Kid Chaos than have Seven roaming around inside your head."

"Make that twenty rounds, Kathryn, considering I've already got Neelix in there."

"I do understand, Chakotay," Janeway said. "You've been coming to terms with your bond with Neelix, but Seven really is another story." Trying to lighten the mood, Janeway said, "I know I wasn't too pleased when anything I said in confidence to her during the last mind link with you was going out over the Borg equivalent of an open comm link. A captain does like to keep some conversations private, you know." When that produced no response from Chakotay, she said, "I know the Talaxian bond has been tough to get used to. Now I'm asking you to have your every thought and instinct laid open to scrutiny by someone as literal-minded as Seven." She paused for a moment and then said, "Chakotay, it really is for your own safety."

"My instincts are telling me it won't be necessary this time," said Chakotay, with a noticeable edge to his voice.

"And your instincts may be correct, but as the Map Finder, you're still vulnerable to attack," said Janeway. "The mind link could save your life."

Chakotay said, "I know," in a flat tone. He glanced away from Janeway.

She rested her hand lightly on his arm to regain his attention, and said, "I'll discuss the matter thoroughly with Seven and lay down some very specific ground rules for the link. My orders will only allow her intrusion if there is a genuine emergency. I'll have the Doctor disable the interlink transmitter when you're on the ship," Janeway said.

"All right, Captain." Chakotay stood and nodded his head to take his leave, but the obvious tension in his normally relaxed and fluid body language gave away his lingering sense of discomfort at the further violation of his privacy.

Janeway watched with concern as he started toward the briefing room door. Quietly, she began, "Chakotay..." He turned and looked back at her with a questioning glance. She closed the distance between them, laid her hand on his chest, and dropped her command mask. She looked up into his eyes and said, "I never want to be forced to stand in front of my crew again and act like you mean nothing to us, Chakotay, or to me. I can't even begin to tell you what having to watch those animals torture you did to me. The sound of those screams..." Her voice trailed off as she shuddered at the memory.

Chakotay was moved by the personal concern evident in her face. "You don't have to, Kathryn," he said softly. "I know you. I can imagine." He held her gaze until she looked away.

Janeway took a few nervous steps backward and crossed her arms in front of herself. Her eyes were guarded when they met his again. She said, "Chakotay, I know it's a lot to ask, coming right on top of the bond with Neelix, but I want to make certain your torture by the Magol never repeats itself," she said. "Between the subdermal transponder, the armband, and the interlink transmitter, we should be able to find you and pull you out of nearly anywhere."

Chakotay felt some of the tension flow out of him, and he visibly relaxed. "All right, Kathryn. I guess I can live with Seven's mindlink on away missions. She won't be too happy with any restrictions your orders will place on her, though -- I can tell you that."

"I'll ask the Doctor to prepare a social lesson for her on the concept of privacy," said Janeway, deadpan.

A quick grin flashed across Chakotay's face, and they both laughed at the thought. They agreed to take a break in a few hours for a late lunch to continue their interrupted discussion from the previous evening. Chakotay left for his office and backlogged paperwork via the corridor as Janeway entered the bridge to oversee preparations for getting _Voyager_ underway once again.

Day 6

Meanwhile, the Magol, 2142 hours:

Gunlag was very surprised to learn that the Magol alliance's day-long pursuit of _Voyager_ had brought them to very nearly within striking distance of their quarry. Tarik's sensors confirmed the readings on Imot's Abuskat-enhanced display, but Gunlag was suspicious of a possible trap. He had expected several days' travel at high warp before encountering the Federation ship again.

"Recheck your instruments," insisted Gunlag.

Imot complied, and then said, "They show Janeway's ship underway at far below its maximum speed." Imot was about to ask Gunlag if he should signal Tarik to recheck Abuskat sensors as well, but thought better of it.

"We all came through the Portal six days ago, and Janeway left within a few hours," said Gunlag. "They should have covered much more distance than this."

"Either they have not completed repairs to their propulsion system, or this region's unusual properties may be causing their technology to malfunction," said Imot.

Before Gunlag could comment on this observation, Imot's console beeped. Glancing at the display, Imot said, "The Abuskat are hailing us."

"Open visual communications," said Gunlag.

The viewscreen came to life, displaying Tarik on his bridge. "Captain Gunlag, my long-range sensors are showing a planetary system along _Voyager's_ current heading. Judging by the heavy ship traffic I've been observing, it contains a trading outpost. Obviously, this is Janeway's intended destination. How do you wish to proceed?"

"Patience, Tarik, patience," said Gunlag. "Give my people a moment to contact Helar, and we will decide this together." Imot made the connection before Gunlag had even finished his sentence. The viewscreen split, and the image of Captain Helar appeared beside that of Tarik.

"Helar," began Gunlag, "Tarik just informed me that his sensors have detected _Voyager's_ probable destination along our present course. Evidently, there is an outpost on one of the planets in a nearby star system. The moment has come for our alliance to make use of your generous offer of stealth technology."

"It is at your service," responded Helar. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think it best that our three vessels remain well out of _Voyager's_ sensor range until we can determine Janeway's progress in recovering the map. For now, I prefer to mislead her by not appearing as an immediate threat," said Gunlag. "Both exchange crews are still aboard my ship. If I were to add two from my crew, we would have a combined team that could take up an observation position near _Voyager_ using one of your cloaked shuttlepods."

"Yes. And if Janeway decides to send her crew down to that outpost, the shuttlepod can easily land without detection," said Helar. "Our personal stealth cloaks would allow the team to follow Janeway's people on the surface. I will send the technology over in the shuttlepod, along with orders directing my crew to train the others in its use."

"Excellent," said Gunlag. "When can we act on our plan?"

"Fairly quickly, Gunlag," said Helar. "I would estimate two of your gola. The shuttlepod is ready now, thanks to your earlier assistance. Most of the time will be taken up calibrating the stealth cloaks for each individual's particular biology, and then, of course, the other team members must be trained."

"Acceptable," said Gunlag. "Two gola, it is. We will speak again when everything is ready."

Imot broke the connection between the three ships. Gunlag said, "Fflam, you will lead this mission, and take our lothario Expendable with you. Take charge of the team members that will be shadowing Janeway's people, while he remains with the shuttle and its pilot."

Imot started with surprise at the thought that Gunlag would allow him off the ship for a mission of this importance. Gunlag turned to Imot and said, "Expendable, you are to learn how to operate this shuttle for when the technology is ours." Imot nodded.

Gunlag removed an object from his pocket and tossed it to Fflam, saying, "Use this on him if he is foolish enough to try to slip away." Flamm nodded, giving Imot a harsh glare to underscore Gunlag's words. Imot froze when he saw the glint of light on dark metal and realized that Gunlag had given Flamm a punishment device. "Prove to me that you can be trusted on this mission, Expendable," said Gunlag, "and I will consider your scheme to ask the Map Finder for asylum. Fail me, and you will wish you had never been born."

The console beeped with a message from Onslat. Imot turned to Gunlag and reported in a trembling voice that the Tarkada shuttle had arrived. Gunlag waved Flamm and Imot off the bridge to begin their training in the use of the Tarkada personal stealth cloaks. He had genuine misgivings about allowing Imot off the ship at all. Gunlag certainly had no intention of allowing the Expendable to jeopardize the mission by approaching the Map Finder, but the bumbling fool responded well to threats. He knew that Imot would succeed in completely figuring out the Tarkada shuttlepod's stealth technology far sooner than any of his other engineers. Once the map was Gunlag's and he was able to cloak the _Herat_ at will, the possibilities would surely be endless.


	5. Act 3

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Act 3**

Day 8:

Nardonia, 0800 hours:

Two and a half days after Tuvok's discovery of the map information, _Baxial_ left _Voyager's_ shuttlebay for the half-hour flight to Nardonia. Astrometric scans from orbit, though unreliable, had confirmed map information that the M-class planetoid was a swamp world, slightly smaller than Earth's moon. Its surface consisted of one massive central continent solidly elevated above the marshland water level, two smaller continents, and several large island-sized land masses. Hummocks of all sizes were dotted randomly on the surface, with many trails through the marshland between them.

No large ocean expanses of water existed on the surface of Nardonia. Instead, each continent had several enormous inland freshwater lakes that were the source for rivers that flowed to the coast. There were also half dozen or so large inland salt water seas near the coast of each continent. They also emptied into the surrounding wetlands that made up the rest of the entire planet's surface. Numerous open channels of water, some man-made, wound through saline and brackish marshland to the larger hummocks and land masses.

"Here we are," said Neelix as he landed _Baxial_ with a slight bump.

"Next time, Neelix, I'm driving," said Tom Paris with a disgusted snort as he walked back toward the hatch.

They disembarked. The Doctor had studied the cultural information in the encrypted file so that he could surgically alter the away team's appearance. Everyone now displayed a low, bifurcated ridge down the center of their face and spotted markings along their hairline, identical to those of a space-faring race of explorers some seventy-five light years distant from Nardonia. They wore nondescript loose shirts and trousers in neutral colors, which would allow them to easily fade into the crowd once they were in the marketplace. Each team member carried an equipment pack on a shoulder strap filled with trade goods to exchange for currency or technology for engineering. Tuvok and Chakotay also wore loose-fitting, hip-length open vests, which concealed modified tricorders clipped to their belts for short-range use, and only in a dire emergency. The entire away team had been issued type-1 hand phasers, which they carried in the pockets of their trousers.

Neelix took a few moments to secure his ship's hatch against intruders while the others surveyed their surroundings. They were in an open grassy field on the outskirts of Nardonia's largest city. The landing area was on a steep rise surrounded by woodland on three sides. The open side of the field overlooked a large stone-paved plaza about 1.4 kilometers away across the flat grassland at the base of the rise. In the distance, the away team could easily see the tented booths of Nardonia's sprawling outdoor market, as well as sunlight glistening on a nearby river. They started to walk in that direction.

Jerat, the pilot of the cloaked Tarkadan shuttle that had taken up the observation post near _Voyager,_ had easily projected _Baxial's_ course once it left the shuttlebay. The alien ship was clearly headed for the largest continental land mass. Once he was reasonably certain of where _Baxial_ would be setting down, Jerat increased his shuttle's speed to arrive at the landing site slightly ahead of _Voyager's_ away team. He hovered above the surface at some distance away until he determined exactly where the vessel would land.

The field was crowded with many other ships, all come to trade in Nardonia's central marketplace. Jerat quickly transported Flamm and the rest of the cloaked alliance team members off the shuttle to a site near _Baxial_,while he looked for an isolated spot to set his ship down. Once he landed, Jerat ran a quick external scan to determine if it was safe to deactivate the shuttle's stealth technology. With the shuttle parked behind several other larger ships and no one near enough to notice its sudden appearance, he decloaked the vessel. Jerat and Imot settled in for a long wait until the alliance team signaled them for their return transport.

Fflam and the others with him kept a slight distance from _Baxial_ and watched as _Voyager's_ team prepared to leave the landing area. Fflam pointed out the Map Finder, whom he easily recognized, despite the surgical alterations. With the alliance team's numbers being five to _Voyager's_ four, Fflam decided that he and Dinsar of the Tarkada would shadow the Map Finder, while Dursat would follow the dark alien. The two Abuskat, Kerak and Adrick, were assigned to follow the short and yellow-haired aliens. Fflam instructed his cohorts to stay close enough to their target individual to be able to listen to their conversations with the various tradespeople. They were to signal Dinsar if they saw or heard anything significant so that he could screen and relay the information back to Fflam. Dinsar also had responsibility for relaying any instructions from Fflam, and was to coordinate the movements of the other alliance team members as needed. The Magol officer had made this arrangement so that he could keep his full attention on the Map Finder.

Once _Voyager's_ landing party had secured their ship and started for the marketplace, the alliance team's members moved into place and followed closely behind.

The Nardonian central marketplace, 0923 hours

_Voyager's_ away team finally reached the plaza outside the capital where the Nardonians ran their very profitable marketplace. The walk had taken longer than expected because of the near tropical temperature and humidity level. With Vulcan being a desert planet, Tuvok was accustomed to heat, although he didn't care for the heavy dampness that hung in the air. He deliberately insisted upon a slower pace to conserve everyone else's energy level.

"What is it with the Map Keeper and swamps, Chakotay?" goaded Paris. "He must really have it in for you -- this whole planet's a sponge." He took a long pull of water from a canteen hung on a strap across his chest.

"Just worry about yourself, Paris, and save some of that water for later," said Chakotay. "I'm not carrying you back to the ship when you collapse from dehydration."

"Oh yeah? We'll see who carries who," said Paris.

The bickering continued sporadically for the rest of the walk, finally tapering off once the away team entered the marketplace. Though very large, the site was laid out in an orderly grid pattern, with the vendors grouped together by type of merchandise for sale. The booths had peaked white canvas tops to shield the interior from the sun and to shed rain, with an arrangement of interlocking awnings that extended completely over the aisles. The temperature inside the shaded market was significantly cooler than in the grassland surrounding the tented booths. A slight breeze blew in off the nearby river and carried the faint aroma of different foods being sold at conveniently located stalls throughout the entire market. The current of air was strong enough to make the humidity almost bearable.

The away team stopped at a booth just inside the entrance, where guides were answering questions and distributing maps indicating the different vendors' locations and the specific goods they were selling. Each team member took one, and the group moved off to a quieter spot to study them and await Chakotay's final instructions.

"Everyone is to remain within sight of each other, with the exception of our cultural documentarian," said Chakotay. "Neelix, since your task is to circulate and gather information, you're free to set your own itinerary. The rest of us will be in the technology section. We'll meet back here no later than 1300 hours to compare notes and decide our next move if we have to stay longer."

"1300 hours it is, Commander," Neelix responded, as he slipped his map into his equipment pack. He raised his head, sniffed deeply a few times, and smiled. He said, "My nose has already picked out a few promising locations to investigate. See you later." Neelix waved his goodbye and set off further into the market, completely unaware of the Abuskat trailing him.

The rest of the team studied their maps to pick out vendors who might possibly have promising technology for B'Elanna to adapt. By prior arrangement made in their final briefing aboard _Voyager_, they did not discuss the true goal of their mission aloud. The plan was to work their way through the technology section and any other promising location with an eye open for any translucent plastic sheet resembling the map. Tuvok was to verify the authenticity of a suspected quadlet directly to Chakotay, who would negotiate a price for it. Once Chakotay had found as many quadlets of the map as his beacon locator led him to, either he or Tuvok would walk over to wherever Tom Paris happened to be and tell him it was time to resume their expedition. This was the pre-arranged signal that Chakotay had found as much of the map as they were likely to on this away mission. They would then return to the rendezvous point to await Neelix's return so they could leave the market.

Chakotay, Tuvok, and Paris started over toward the technology section, with their cloaked Magol alliance shadows following closely behind. The away team worked their way through the noisy and crowded aisles, acquiring some parts for Torres as they went along, quickly slipping them into their equipment packs to leave their hands free in case they needed to quickly get to their concealed hand phasers.

There were many alien races in the market, none of them familiar to the away team. They easily recognized the native Nardonians from the cultural information Tuvok had found in the map's encrypted file. The Nardonians were a reptilian species, very similar in appearance to the Voth, but with somewhat darker skin pigmentation and facial markings, and brown eyes rather than gold. Nardonian brow ridges and other facial textures and protuberances were less pronounced than those of Gegen's species, but they had the same distinctive three-digit clawed hands. Chakotay regretted that this wasn't a genuine anthropological mission. He would have enjoyed studying the Nardonians further to confirm what appeared to be an obvious genetic link to the Voth and their Hadrosaur ancestors from Earth's Cretaceous Period, over 125 million years ago.

Since finding the quadlets of the Second Portal map was the mission's unspoken top priority, Chakotay took point. He set the team's route through the technology section based on the intensity of the soundless vibrations he was feeling against the skin of his chest from the beacon locator under his shirt. When he reached an area where the sensations were especially strong, he told Tuvok and Paris to spread out and concentrate their attention there. Acknowledging his orders, the two men moved off in opposite directions to nearby booths within sight of Chakotay, and looked though various bins of ship parts and other devices while surreptitiously keeping an eye on the first officer's movements.

They had been working their way slowly through the designated area in this manner for about twenty minutes when Chakotay stopped at what appeared to be a curio dealer's booth. It seemed very out of place, since it had a great deal of unrelated merchandise in addition to the usual technological devices, but Chakotay couldn't deny the vibrations against his chest. They were intense nearly to the point of pain.

"I'm surprised to find your booth in the technology section," Chakotay said. "You seem to have a little of everything, Mister..."

"It's Marzan," said the merchant. "And yes, actually, I do. The used components I sell more than cover my expenses and support my family. There's enough profit left over for me to indulge my love of the unusual, so I offer curios and cultural artifacts as well. Have a look for yourself. You may find a thing or two to interest you."

"I think I will, Marzan," said Chakotay. "I'm leading a small cultural survey mission sponsored by my planet's Exploration Society. We've stopped off here just long enough to replace a few parts, but my crew's been finding them easily enough without my help. I'd enjoy being an anthropologist again for a few minutes. What do you have that might interest me?"

Marzan brought out a tray of carved stone ornaments and painted wooden artifacts from under the counter. He set it down in an empty spot next to a crate jammed to overflowing with assorted merchandise. Without thinking, Chakotay rested his left hand on top of the crate for a moment, and was a little startled when the locator device taped to his chest gave him a mild shock and then deactivated itself. Glancing at the crate, he saw an assortment of miscellaneous devices. His hand had come down upon a jumble of schematics for their installation and use, along with several drawings obviously done by a child. One of the drawings looked very familiar. It was done on a sheet of plastic material, as were all the others, but this particular drawing was almost entirely covered with a thick layer of grime. There was a cleaner portion along the side where his hand had rested that Chakotay recognized as identical to the original quadlets that Neelix had brought to Janeway's ready room when they were in orbit of Abras.

As casually as he could, Chakotay said, "Just a moment, Marzan. I'd like to call one of my crew over. This crate looks like it might hold exactly what he's been looking for."

Marzan nodded, and Chakotay turned to his left and signaled to Tuvok, who acknowledged the summons with a wave. The Vulcan finished up his transaction with a vendor two booths away, and turned to look for Tom Paris. Spotting Paris several booths distant in the opposite direction from Chakotay's position, Tuvok waited until he caught Paris' eye and signaled that they should meet up with the Commander. Paris acknowledged the signal, and continued to negotiate for some used phase buffers for Torres. He decided to take a few additional minutes so as not to draw too much attention by arriving at Chakotay's location at the same moment as Tuvok.

Chakotay turned his attention back to the tray of artifacts and began to examine them more closely while he waited for Tuvok's arrival. Marzan gave such detailed cultural information about each object and its purpose that Chakotay was reluctant to turn away to speak directly to Tuvok once he sensed the Vulcan's presence at his left elbow. Instead, he drew Tuvok's attention to the translucent plastic rectangle by drumming quietly on it with his fingers, and then giving the exposed edge a slight snap.

Tuvok quickly caught Chakotay's meaning, and began rummaging through the crate, comparing parts to various printed sheets as he worked his way through the schematics. When he reached the plastic sheet the Commander had indicated, he took hold of it between his thumb and index finger as if to move it aside to get at the schematic behind it. He was rewarded with a momentary telepathic flash of the interior of Horus' hut and its towering skywall.

Tuvok gently grasped Chakotay's left elbow, causing the Commander turn away from the tray of artifacts momentarily and glance over at him. The Vulcan gave a slight nod. Chakotay acknowledged with a nod of his own, and turned his attention back to Marzan. Tuvok continued to rummage through the crate of parts as though nothing unusual had just happened.

At that moment, Tom Paris approached Marzan's booth, carrying a crate of parts. "I hit the jackpot at that last place," said Paris. "There's plenty here B'Elanna can use if her people put in a little elbow grease."

"You may wish to look in this crate as well," said Tuvok. "There are schematics for an unusual assortment of devices. Perhaps there is also something here that our crew can use." Tuvok picked up and flipped through the schematics to show them to Paris, surreptitiously indicating the quadlet, which Tom recognized, but to which he did not want to call further attention.

He picked through the crate briefly and then said, "As a matter of fact, there's a few things in there I wouldn't mind having."

Chakotay had been listening to their conversation with one ear, and turned to ask, "Tom, have you found everything else you need yet? We'd better think about getting underway again, if we want to stick to our schedule."

"Yeah, pretty much, Chakotay, but we've got to stop somewhere to eat first. I'm starving," said Tom. "We passed a place on the way in that was selling something that looked and smelled like pizza."

A faint expression of annoyance passed across Tuvok's face at the flippant comment from Paris after what he considered to be a too casual inspection of the contents of Marzan's crate.

"You can fill your belly in a couple minutes, Paris," Chakotay said. "I want a few of these artifacts, and there's several things we can use from that crate Tuvok just picked through. Marzan and I are still negotiating for what's on this tray."

Meanwhile, the Magol alliance team that had been shadowing _Voyager's_ away team had gotten very close to the Map Finder once he stopped at Marzan's booth. Carefully working their way through the crowd while cloaked had been very tedious, but when the Map Finder stopped at the curio vendor's location, the alliance team found themselves with an unexpected stroke of luck -- the booth next to Marzan's was unoccupied. Fflam and his group easily slipped into it and congratulated themselves at having found a prime observation spot.

Fflam immediately noticed the Map Finder's interest in the contents of the crate. He was close enough to Chakotay to see the surreptitious signal to the dark alien, the nods between the two men, and then the signal to the light haired alien pointing out a particular drawing from the crate. Fflam realized that the _Voyager_ team had located a piece of the map.

They continued to observe as the Map Finder concluded negotiations for several of the artifacts on the vendor's tray. He was about to ask about the crate of parts when the last of the _Voyager_ aliens appeared, carrying a bulging equipment pack, one large sack of produce over his shoulder, and lugging two slightly smaller sacks along with him. The alliance team stayed and watched until negotiations for the crate were being concluded. Dinsar then contacted the shuttle for a return transport for their entire group. After a few moments, the alliance team dematerialized.

Tuvok's eyebrow rose in surprise at Neelix's timely appearance.

"Oh don't be so shocked, Mr. Vulcan," said Neelix. "The Commander here can tell you I'm an excellent tracker. Besides, I finished up my business and followed my Talaxian instincts. They told me I'd find all three of you right here."

"Good timing, Neelix," said Chakotay. "We're almost ready to start back." Neelix was about to respond when the "drawing" caught his eye.

"What have we here? Anything interesting?" asked Neelix, as he began to dig through the crate of parts. He found a squat cylindrical object, and turned to Chakotay to say, "This looks like a heating coil. You know, the one we have now isn't going to last much longer."

Tom groaned inwardly when it appeared that Neelix was determined to get involved in negotiations for the crate, despite the Captain's orders. He was about to say something, when Tuvok beat him to it. "Mr. Neelix," the Vulcan began, but a quick gesture from Chakotay silenced him.

Chakotay had realized that the only way Neelix could have timed his appearance so precisely was that he had sensed what was happening through the _tasnixia_ bond he shared with the Commander, and had used that link to track them to their location. Chakotay grudgingly admitted to himself what an obvious advantage that connection was on a mission like this one. It concerned him that Neelix appeared to be trying to ease his way into the negotiations somehow, but he decided to allow him some slack. Chakotay intended to convey his displeasure through the _Tasnixia_ bond if Neelix overstepped the boundaries the Captain had laid down. He waited to see what the Talaxian would do.

Neelix continued to rummage through the crate, and said, "It looks like there's something here for everyone." He pulled out a few odd parts and said, "Tom, this looks like something you could use." Tom nodded.

"I'm selling the entire contents of the crate as one lot," said Marzan.

"A bargain, I'm sure," said Neelix. He turned to the Commander and said, "Mr. Chakotay? There's schematics for everything, and even a few drawings for Naomi's souvenir collection." Chakotay was about say something when Neelix turned to Marzan and said, "Naomi is my goddaughter. She wants to be an explorer like me when she grows up, so I bring her something from every place we stop. Naomi always wants to know the stories behind whatever I come back with."

"I hope your goddaughter isn't frightened by stories of ogres, Mr..."

"Neelix," said the Talaxian.

"Marzan," said the Nardonian.

"No, Marzan, she's not. She's old enough to know they're just stories, but she likes them anyway -- the scarier the better," said Neelix.

"My daughter Kasta is the same way," said Marzan. "The drawings are of Nardonian fairy tales and legends. If your Naomi likes scary stories, she might enjoy this drawing in particular," he said, pulling out the quadlet, and wiping off the dirt. "It's for a cautionary tale called "The Legend of the Deadly Welcome."

"Sounds pretty scary to me," said Neelix. "What's the 'deadly welcome'?"

"The tale warns of a seemingly friendly creature that invites unwary travelers seeking refuge from a sudden storm into its den. It seems like the perfect solution to their immediate dilemma, but once the travelers become comfortable enough to let down their guard, the creature traps them and devours them. We use it to teach our young to be wary of things that appear to be too good to be true. Nardonians are a friendly people, Neelix, but our marketplace draws many strangers into this system. There are some who would not hesitate to exploit a child for their own purposes."

"A wise precaution, Marzan," said Neelix. "Did Kasta make these drawings?"

"Yes," said Marzan. "She wants a tirka bird as a pet, but you know how children are. They need to learn responsibility as well as caution. I told her she could have her bird if she was able to earn its cost and then promise me she would take care of it. Kasta brought me some of her drawings and asked me to sell them for her, and here we are."

Neelix smiled broadly at Marzan's explanation, and turned to the first officer. He said, "How about it, Mr. Chakotay? There's a tirka bird looking for a home, and we certainly wouldn't want to disappoint a little girl with a home to offer."

Paris took this moment to speak up and say, "Yeah, c'mon, Chakotay. You don't want to let Kasta down, do you?"

Chakotay laughed and said, "All right, you two. Marzan, it looks like we have some more business to discuss."He and the Nardonian began to work out a price for the crate. Rather than involving himself in the negotiations, Neelix made a deliberate show of poking around in the crate Paris was still holding, asking questions about some of the parts that looked unfamiliar. The tray of artifacts caught Tuvok's eye, and he examined them more closely while he waited for Chakotay to conclude negotiations for Marzan's crate.

"Fair enough," Chakotay finally said.

While Chakotay was busy counting out currency for the Nardonian, Marzan took a business card out of his pocket. He made eye contact with Tuvok and handed the card directly to him instead of Chakotay, saying, "You may want to come back at another time to my regular shop in town."

The business card was printed on the same kind of translucent plastic material as the quadlet. The moment Tuvok's thumb and index finger made contact with it, he had another brief telepathic flash of Horus' hut and the skywall. He slipped the card into a vest pocket without examining it further. Tuvok caught Chakotay's eye briefly and then turned to Marzan and said, "Perhaps we will."

"You'll find much more there to interest you. It's where I keep my most valuable inventory, as well the most unusual items," said Marzan. "Perhaps there are others on your ship who might like a curio or two for their loved ones at home."

"I'll discuss it with the rest of my crew," said Chakotay. "We're eager to get underway as soon as possible, but our repairs could take us another day or two. You may see us again."

"I look forward to it," said Marzan.

With that, Chakotay and the rest of his team bid the friendly Nardonian dealer farewell and started the long walk back to the landing site and _Baxial_.

Meanwhile, back on the Tarkada shuttle, Fflam was berating Imot and threatening him with Gunlag's punishment device. When the alliance team rematerialized aboard the shuttle, Fflam had immediately noticed that Jerat was nowhere to be seen. When Imot told the Essential that he had transported Jerat off the shuttle, Fflam had ordered the hapless Expendable into the separate cargo area in the rear of the shuttle to interrogate him.

"And who is going to operate the controls of this vessel now that you've allowed our pilot to transport off on some ill-conceived mission?" asked Fflam.

"I am, of course," said Imot. "What better way to learn to fly it than to send the pilot on a surveillance mission, and have him teach me everything I need to know before he left? We took the ship up briefly, and he showed me how cloak it and get us off the planet and back to our observation post near _Voyager_."

Fflam grunted and then said, "You sent him on a mission without consulting me." He waved the punishment device close to Imot's face. The Expendable flinched.

"Just hear me out, Fflam -- you weren't here when I got the idea. We had no way of knowing when the _Voyager_ aliens would be back, so the two of us needed to act quickly. Jerat and I were sitting here talking, and he was telling me about the surveillance missions he's been on using that personal cloak of his. Out of curiosity, we scanned the Map Finder's vessel and found that the interior is large enough for Jerat to move around in the open without detection. There are also places for him to easily conceal himself if he needs to. He'll be able to observe them and discover what they plan to do next, and this will also get him onboard _Voyager_. Since I was under orders to stay aboard the shuttle, I transported Jerat onto the alien ship instead of using a cloak to gather the information myself."

"Only the fact that you had the sense to stay put keeps me from using a punishment protocol on you. That, and the fact it was a good idea," said Fflam.

"It made perfect sense once we saw the results of the scan," said Imot. He continued, saying, "I instructed Jerat to signal us when he is ready to transport himself off their ship. This race has truly made a high art of stealth technology. There is no way Janeway's people will ever detect Jerat or any communication he may have with us. He will be completely free to gather the information that will bring the map into Magol hands."

"Now I see why Gunlag keeps an insolent Expendable who doesn't know his proper place aboard the _Herat_. If it had been up to me, you would have been shoved out an airlock long ago. It seems you do have some small value to us after all," said Fflam.

Imot managed to conceal a wince at the backhanded compliment. Instead, he said, "I should return to the pilot's seat before our allies think we are conspiring back here."

"And to be certain that they are not conspiring against us," said Fflam.

The two Magol returned to the flight deck of the shuttle and settled in to wait for _Voyager's_ away team to return.

The return trip to _Baxial_ was uneventful but tiring, given the combined weight of the away team's crates of technology, their bulging equipment packs, and the three bags of produce Neelix had acquired. The temperature had increased considerably as midday approached, and the blast of heat that hit the away team after the breezy, shaded aisles of the market was draining.

Tuvok had hoisted the heaviest bag of produce onto the shoulder not weighed down by his equipment pack, leaving Neelix to manage the two lighter bags along with his pack loaded with produce, while Paris and Chakotay each carried a crate of parts plus their equipment packs stuffed to near bursting with additional components for Torres. The team had walked nearly all of the distance back when Neelix remembered something he had been told on his rounds as 'cultural documentarian.'

"It was the oddest thing, Tom," he said. "I was telling a merchant I'd just met that we were on a cultural survey mission. When I started asking about interesting places we might want to visit, a passerby who'd stopped to listen made a point of warning me about something called the "False Passage."

Paris thought for a moment "Could be a navigation warning," he said. "Okay, Neelix, I'll bite. What's the 'False Passage'?"

"From I was told, it sounded like some kind of anomalous wormhole," said Neelix, "but it doesn't appear that way when you enter it. Supposedly, it's the most obvious route out of all the regional turbulence in an unstable sector of space, but once ships are too far inside the 'False Passage' to turn back, something destroys them. The man had no specific coordinates to give me, so I figured he was just having some kind of twisted fun at the expense of someone he'd never see again. To tell you the truth, Tom, it sounded a little like the 'Deadly Welcome' story."

"It may be just another legend, Neelix," said Chakotay. "The idea of caution seems pretty deeply ingrained in Nardonian cultural mythology, if Marzan's tale is any indication. They get a lot of strangers passing though their system, so it's understandable."

"You could be right, Commander," said Neelix, "but that warning coming when it did felt like more than just friendly advice." He hesitated, and then said, "I'm probably reading too much into it."

"Speaking of odd, Neelix, what was that business about Naomi and a souvenir collection?" asked Paris. "That came out of nowhere."

"Not exactly, Tom," said Neelix. "Mr. Vulcan over there on the other side of you made sure we all knew that someone might be watching our every move. I decided to give Commander Chakotay a good reason to buy the 'drawings', in case he needed one."

"I would've come up with something on my own, Paris," said Chakotay, "but Neelix saved me the trouble. He followed the Captain's orders and stayed out of the negotiations. Why don't you ease up on him?"

"Whatever you say, Commander," said Paris, too exhausted from the heat to come up with a sarcastic reply.

The team walked along in silence for the remaining short distance until they reached the landing area and _Baxial_. Neelix opened the hatch and climbed in, directing the others to storage bins in which to secure the crates, their equipment packs, and the produce. Once the hatch was sealed, the onboard life support system adjusted the temperature and filtered out the lingering humidity that reentering the ship had allowed inside. The four took several minutes to rest and drink enough water to rehydrate themselves after the debilitating walk back in the sweltering heat.

While they were still regaining their strength, Tuvok removed the business card from his vest pocket to examine it further. As he held it between his thumb and index finger, he once again experienced a momentary flashback to the interior of Horus' hut and its skywall. Tuvok continued to study the card after the image in his mind faded, and saw the address printed on its face morph into a set of coordinates for another location still on Nardonia, but quite distant from either the market or Marzan's shop in the city.

"Commander," Tuvok said, "you may wish to take a look at this." Chakotay came over from where he had been quietly resting, and took the card from Tuvok. "Pay close attention to the address," said the Vulcan, as he grasped the corner of the card between his thumb and index fingers. Chakotay watched as the address once again reformatted itself into a set of coordinates.

"Marzan gave this directly to me as you were concluding your purchase, Commander," said Tuvok. "The telepathic verification from this card is identical to that from the quadlet itself. Along with the signal, I also received a strong sense that Marzan was quite well aware of who we were, and was directly responsible for seeing to it that the quadlet came into our hands. I would surmise that either he has some connection with a Mapkeeper, or perhaps Marzan himself is a Mapkeeper in Second Portal space."

Before Chakotay could respond, Neelix asked, "What do those coordinates mean, Mr. Chakotay?" Out of curiosity, both he and Paris had come over to see what was on the card.

"Offhand, I'd say that's where we'll find more of the map," said Chakotay.

"Are you certain that's what they're for?" asked Neelix, remembering Chakotay's abduction by the Magol from Eyfrod's shop on Abras. "Maybe they're meant to lure you into some kind of trap."

"I don't think so, Neelix," said Chakotay. "They're real -- I felt my beacon locator reactivate itself when Tuvok touched the card as I held it." He tapped his communicator and said, "Away team to Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, we've found one quadlet, and Tuvok was given a card that appears to have coordinates on Nardonia for more. I'm certain the information is genuine, but Sevenshould probably run it through the Astrometrics scanners to see if it's a viable location. Have B'Elanna start adapting tricorders to scan for the beacon frequency on the surface. Looks like we'll be in orbit here for a while longer."

"We can use the extra time to work out the systems modifications, Commander," said Janeway.. "Speaking of which, any luck finding technology for B'Elanna to adapt?"

"Tom here, Captain," said Paris. "I've got a crate full of usable phase tech, and Chakotay bought another one full of miscellaneous parts. We picked up a lot of stuff before we even got to where we found the piece of the map, so our packs are jammed with components, too. It might be a good idea to have an engineering team ready to help sort it out."

"Will do, Mr. Paris. Anything else, Commander?"

"Neelix is bringing back quite a bit of fresh produce. He might need some help getting it squared away, but other than that, anything else can wait until we're back," said Chakotay. "The mission was almost routine."

"All right, then. Good work, everybody. Janeway out."

After a few minutes, _Baxial_ lifted off for the return trip to _Voyager_.

Imot waited on the surface of Nardonia until the alien ship was airborne and well away before cloaking the Abuskat shuttle and pursuing. Aboard _Baxial_, Jerat remained vigilant but out of the way, having observed and recorded everything. He patiently waited for the windfall opportunity that would be his once the alien ship was back aboard _Voyager_.

Shuttlebay

1430 hours

Lieutenant Carey and Ensign Vorik were waiting for the away team in the shuttlebay when _Baxial_ set down. As soon as Neelix cut power to the propulsion system, Paris popped the hatch so the rest of the team could begin to offload the cargo.

Chakotay and Paris were first off the ship, each carrying a crate of components for Engineering, followed by Tuvok with the large bag of produce on his shoulder. Chakotay's face showed mild surprise at seeing Carey and Vorik.

"The Captain sent us to meet you, sir," said Carey. "She's waiting for both you and Mr. Tuvok in her ready room. Vorik and I were ordered to take everything to cargo bay 2 with Mr. Paris' and Neelix's help, and then begin going through it for Lieut. Torres."

"All right, Mr. Carey," said Chakotay, setting his crate down. "Neelix can show you where we stowed the rest." He turned to his left and said, "Tuvok?"

Tuvok set the produce on the floor, and plucked the quadlet out of the sheaf of schematics and drawings in the crate they had purchased from Marzan. "No doubt the Captain will wish to see this," he said.

"No doubt," said Chakotay. "Tom, once you've helped Carey and Vorik sort everything out, report to Engineering and see what you can do to help B'Elanna adapt the components you found on Nardonia."

"Me?" asked Tom.

"The retrofit was your idea, Paris," Chakotay said. "We're still in orbit, so I'm assigning you to B'Elanna as an extra pair of hands for now. I think Mr. Baytart can manage the helm for you while we're parked."

"Aye, sir," responded Paris, with a smirk at Chakotay's last comment.

Chakotay and Tuvok turned and left the shuttlebay and headed for Deck 1.

Jerat waited until Chakotay, Tuvok, and Paris had left _Baxial_ to move near the open hatch. Neelix was still occupied in the front of the ship, so Jerat stood in the open hatchway for a few moments to make a quick visual survey of the shuttlebay. He finally disembarked as the Map Finder and his team joined the two crewmen waiting for them. He walked over to listen closely as the Map Finder assigned everyone his duties. Jerat decided that he would follow the four going to the cargo bay so he could begin to learn the layout of the ship and determine what kind of access he might be able to get to other areas. There would be ample time to discover any further plans regarding the map once the captain had decided her crew's next move.

Paris, Carey, and Vorik reentered _Baxial_ to unload the rest of the cargo. They came upon Neelix struggling with two bags of produce plus his overstuffed equipment pack.

"Do you require assistance, Neelix?" asked Vorik.

"I will in a moment, Mr. Vorik," said Neelix, "but let's get everything off the ship first. We'll have to make two trips to the cargo bay."

The others grabbed the remaining equipment packs and deposited them next to the crates and large bag of produce already sitting on the shuttlebay floor. Carey and Paris each picked up a crate of components, while Vorik grabbed the large bag of produce. Neelix kept his pack and said to the group, "I'll just drop this by the mess hall for tonight's dinner. If one of you could bring the rest of the produce to the cargo bay for me on your next trip, I'll join you there and put it away." Vorik nodded an acknowledgment, and the group left the shuttlebay. Jerat quickly slipped through the doors behind them.

The cloaked Tarkadan entered the turbolift with Neelix, Paris, Carey, and Vorik. The fact that the car was crowded did not concern Jerat. Since he had calibrated his personal cloak to keep himself slightly out of phase with the space-time continuum of Second Portal space, Jerat would easily be able to pass though solid objects without detection if need be. He was careful, however, to avoid physically intersecting any of the technology that was either in the crates or on the person of _Voyager's_ crew. This was a matter of standard procedure with him on all intelligence-gathering missions of this type. Jerat preferred to run thorough scans on any alien mechanical devices first to determine if his passing through them while phased would leave a residual trace of his presence.

The turbolift reached Deck 8, and Paris, Carey, and Vorik got off, closely followed by Jerat. As Jerat entered cargo bay 2 behind _Voyager's_ crew, his eye was immediately drawn to the control room and its master situation monitor on the upper level of the bay. He moved left toward the ladder leading to the upper level, and waited for _Voyager's_ crew to deposit their cargo and leave to retrieve the rest from the shuttlebay.

Once the cargo bay door had hissed shut behind the departing crew, Jerat rapidly climbed the ladder to the control room. He scanned the touch panel on the console in front of him and removed a device from a pocket of his uniform. Jerat activated it and tapped several commands on its keypad before laying it down directly on the surface of the panel. The device easily bypassed _Voyager's_ security lockouts without triggering any alarms and began to download the ship's tactical database.

The download had just finished when Jerat heard the cargo bay doors beginning to open. He quickly terminated the link and pocketed the device as the doors opened wide enough to admit the crew returning with the rest of their cargo. Jerat went to the ladder and quietly made his way down to the floor. He positioned himself close enough to monitor the group's conversation and progress, and to be able to easily leave with them once their work was completed. He watched as the spotted alien returned to sort out his vegetables. The men were joined a few minutes later by another crewmember with what appeared to be metallic implants on her face. She spoke to them briefly, took several components for her own use, and then left the cargo bay.

Finally, the sorting process was completed, and two of the men began to repack the crates and equipment packs. Jerat watched as the third picked up a squat cylindrical object and walked over to the man dividing up produce into cargo containers.

"Neelix, your heating coil," said Paris.

"Thanks, Tom," said Neelix. "This was certainly a lucky find. I can't wait to see how much it will improve cooking time."

"Just be sure to run it past B'Elanna before you go integrating it into the ship's systems, and if I were you, Neelix, I'd hold off for a little while. She's got her hands full right now with the systems modifications."

"Sure, Tom. Not a problem."

"Thanks." He tapped his communicator. "Paris to Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, we're finished in here," said Paris. "I'll be in engineering if you need me."

"Very well, Mr. Paris. Have B'Elanna keep me advised of her progress. Janeway out."

Paris returned to where Carey and Vorik were waiting with the repacked crates. He slung an equipment pack over each shoulder and picked up the third one to carry in his arms. "Ready?" he asked. The other two men nodded, and all three left cargo bay 2, trailed by Jerat.

Engineering, 15:57 hours:

"Where do you want all this, Lieutenant?" asked Carey as he walked into engineering with Vorik and Paris.

"Over there," Torres said, indicating the alcove to the left of her engineering station.She set down the tricorder she had been working on and walked over to inspect the technology the away team had acquired on Nardonia.She pulled out several components from one of the equipment bags and handed them to Vorik, saying, "Ensign, see if your team can integrate these into the warp core project. They look fairly easy to modify, but call me if you need any help." The Vulcan nodded and walked across Engineering to rejoin his team.

"B'Elanna, this crate has enough phase tech in it for Joe and I to get started on the expanded subspace forcefield project," said Paris.

"Fine," said Torres. She tapped a few commands into one of the consoles and used her clearance to pull up the specifications for the type of phase technology routinely used in Galaxy-class starship systems. "That's what's in the Engineering database for the retrofit you had in mind. Janeway has me recalibrating tricorders for your next away mission, so I need get back to that."

"Have fun," said Paris.

"Using Harren's calculations? Not likely," said Torres.

Paris smiled, but decided not to rub it in any further. At least his part of the retrofit project didn't involve more than minimal contact with Harren or his calculations_. A grease monkey... that's what I am,_ he thought, _a 24th century grease monkey, and glad of it._

Jerat, meanwhile, had noticed the two-tiered layout of engineering once he was inside the department, and made his way over to the ladder that led to the upper workstations. Running a quick scan, he determined that there was no one currently working on that level. He quickly scaled the ladder so he could study the upper engineering stations in relative privacy. When he was finished, Jerat leaned out over the railing surrounding the edge of the upper platform, and began to scan the warp core.

Jerat was dissatisfied with his readings, and decided he would need to get as close to the core as possible. He anchored himself firmly so he wouldn't lose his balance, and then leaned out as far as he could over the railing. He extended the arm holding the scanner until it was a mere 20 cm away from the core. Jerat froze when he felt a momentary disruption in his cloak's interphase stability. He quickly stepped back from the railing and backed up against the wall to check the settings of the device he wore on his forearm to generate the cloak. He doubted the momentary fluctuation was enough to render him visible, but he realized that the slight electromagnetic field surrounding the active warp core would make it difficult for him to get more detailed readings without risking detection.

Vorik looked up from the console at which he was working and said, "Lieutenant Torres."

"What is it, Vorik?"

"I'm detecting an anomalous reading near the warp core. It appears to be localized on the upper level."

"Who's up there?"

"No one at present, Lieutenant. My console indicated spatial fluctuations with a modulating phase variance. The reading was there momentarily, and then vanished."

Torres came over to check Vorik's console and then said, "You're right. There's some kind of residual trace." She tapped her combadge and said, "Torres to the bridge."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, Vorik detected a very strange reading near the core. We may have an intruder aboard."

Janeway turned to the Ops station and said, "Harry?"

Kim ran a full scan of engineering from his station and then spoke into the open channel. "B'Elanna, I'm not reading anything unusual up here. It's probably just Second Portal space affecting your instruments. Once Tom's subspace forcefield around _Voyager _is online, there shouldn't be any more sensor ghosts. Kim out."

Torres turned to Vorik and said, "Harry thinks it's a sensor ghost, but keep an eye open anyway, and let me know if you see it again."

"Acknowledged," said Vorik, as they both returned to their respective projects.

Day 9

On _Voyager_, in astrometrics, 0703 hours:

Seven of Nine looked up briefly from her console as Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok entered astrometrics. She had been busy for several hours, analyzing the hidden coordinates on the business card, attempting to pinpoint an exact location for the beacon that held out the promise of more quadlets. Since the subspace forcefield surrounding _Voyager_ had not yet been brought online, the external sensor readings continued to be unreliable. Seven was unable to get more than an approximate fix on the subspace beacon from orbit. She worked in silence for a few moments more, making final adjustments to the schematic already up on the dome, and then looked up again and spoke.

"I have isolated a search grid for the specified coordinates," said Seven. She tapped the console, and a section of the schematic zoomed up and magnified. It showed a highlighted area that overlapped the edge of one of the smaller continental masses. "The away team will be required to transport down and search an area which covers approximately 47.3 square kilometers. The beacon is located within this grid, but sensors cannot determine a more exact location at this distance. I regret that I cannot be more precise, Captain."

"B'Elanna is reconfiguring tricorders for the mission, Seven," said Janeway. "That should give the away team more accurate readings once they're on the surface."

"Why do we need to transport down? A shuttle would allow us to search an area that large much more easily," said Chakotay.

"The limited information I have been able to obtain regarding surface conditions in the target area suggests that it is almost entirely composed of wetlands," said Seven. "That topography would not support the weight of a shuttlecraft without some degree of sinking, Commander. The portion of the continent within the grid appears to be too densely wooded for a landing, and the forest stretches back from the continental boundary for a considerable distance beyond the parameters of the search grid. Furthermore, although there are several large hummocks elevated above the surface water level within the grid, they too are heavily overgrown, with insufficient open space to accommodate a vessel. Transport would be the most efficient means of reaching the search grid, given the time it would require to adjust a shuttle's navigation systems for this spatial reality."

Torres entered astrometrics in enough time to hear Chakotay's question and Seven's explanation. Jerat was close behind her.

"Seven's right," said Torres. "I'm pretty familiar with Harren's calculations by now, and can tell you that applying them to the targeting scanners and recalibrating the transporter system for Second Portal space makes a lot more sense than a retrofit on a ship you might not be able to land."

Janeway turned to Chakotay and Tuvok and said, "Looks like you'll be hiking in, gentlemen." She turned to Torres and asked, "B'Elanna, how are the modifications to the tricorders coming along?"

"All four should be ready within the hour, Captain," said Torres. "Between Harren's calculations, the data in the encrypted file, and some of the components Tom found in the market, I've found a way to adjust them to recognize the beacon frequency." Torres opened the tricorder she had brought to show the captain. Everyone crowded around her to watch as she explained her modifications. Jerat found a way to push in and maneuver himself into a position where he could make a full audiovisual recording of the demonstration with his scanner.

Torres continued, saying, "This will give you a directional reading of the signal from a further distance than Chakotay's locator device is capable of. Once the team has established a direction, the locator will narrow the focus of the search as it comes into range of a quadlet. You'll need to make a few minor calibrations once you're on the surface, but after that, it's a fairly simple matter," Torres said, showing them a few simple commands.

"This key is programmed with the beacon signal frequency," she said as held down a key. Everyone watched as the readout on the display screen of the tricorder showed a schematic rendering of the beacon frequency. "You'll need to hold it down while you press here to activate the gross scan for the signal," she said, pressing another key. "That should give you your general direction, and once you're in range of the map, Chakotay's locator can take it from there."

"Good work, B'Elanna," said Janeway. "I need you to get started on reconfiguring transporter room 2's systems for the beamdown."

Torres nodded and said, "I'll get right on it, Captain," as she left astrometrics. Jerat remained where he was to learn further details of the mission.

"Seven, I want you to join the away team in Neelix's place. Your familiarity with Harren's work will be an asset in taking and interpreting clear tricorder readings. Check with B'Elanna once she's finished with the transporter to see if there's anything in particular you need to be aware of."

"Understood, Captain. Request permission to continue refining sensor resolution until it is time to speak to Lieutenant Torres and join the mission. I may be able to derive more precise readings for the search area."

"Permission granted. I'll send Harren up to assist you. Keep Tuvok updated with any new information he might need for fine-tuning the equipment the away team will need," said Janeway. "Chakotay, let Tom know that he'll be joining you on this mission. You're all to reconvene in transporter room 2 at 0900 hours," said Janeway. "Dismissed."

Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok left astrometrics, followed by Jerat. On his several trips through the corridors of _Voyager_, the Tarkadan had noticed the regularly spaced alcoves that contained access hatches for the Jeffries tubes. He spotted one as the captain and her officers walked toward the turbolift, and he quickly fell back from the group to step into it.

Jerat scanned the corridor until he was certain it was empty. There was virtually no chance that his technology would be detected, but he wanted to work without distraction. He set his scanner to emit a repeating pulse designed to systematically probe _Voyager's_ still compromised shields for a weak vector through which to broadcast a signal. After successfully sending his message into space, Jerat received a corresponding response signal, which told him that Imot had returned to the observation post near Janeway's ship, and was within transport range. Jerat entered a few more commands into his scanner and then dematerialized. It was as though he had never been there.


	6. Act 4

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Act 4**

Back on Nardonia, 0900 hours:

_Voyager's_ away team materialized in a heavily wooded area very near the coast of one of Nardonia's smaller continents. Tuvok had determined this site to be tactically the most prudent for a beamdown which would shield them from possible observation. The location was barely within the search grid for the beacon.

They stood in a small clearing atop a shallow rise, about a dozen meters from the bank of a slow-moving river. The humid air was heavy with the aroma of mud and rotting vegetation, but the elevation of the rise was far enough above the planetoid's water level for the soil to be firm and relatively dry under their feet.

Everyone, including Seven, was dressed for back country hiking. They wore lightweight long-sleeved shirts, wide-brimmed hats, long trousers tucked into the top of heavy waterproof boots intended to protect them against snakebite as well as the muck, and canteens of water clipped to their belts. The away team had also slathered every exposed inch of skin with a combination sunscreen/insect repellant formulated by the Doctor.

In addition, they all wore large backpacks, containing equipment deemed necessary for the expedition equally divided among themselves. Tuvok had based his choice of gear on information extracted from the encrypted file and Seven's sensor readings of surface conditions. The backpacks also held reserve supplies of water, a medkit, and field rations.

Seven scanned the surrounding area with her enhanced tricorder until she determined a heading for the away team to follow. Chakotay studied the forest in the direction of the coordinates she indicated until he found a break in the trees and what appeared to be a path beyond it.

He guided the team through the dense undergrowth to a barely visible trail that led away from the river. Deciduous trees towered some 20-odd meters above them, growing so closely together that their canopy protected the away team from direct sunlight. The shade also provided some relief from the rising temperature, which even at that hour was becoming more oppressive with every passing minute. They heard small animals scurrying away through the underbrush from near where the four of them were walking.

The hardwoods eventually gave way to long-needled evergreen conifers resembling the pines of Earth. There was less undergrowth here, mostly ferns and shrubs, interspersed with numerous varieties of flowering plants. Herds of large forest-dwelling herbivorous creatures resembling deer were easily seen moving in the distance, except for a few of the bolder ones that drew closer and quietly poked their heads out from behind the taller ferns to observe the visitors to their habitat. Flocks of birds flew up and made a racket when the away team disturbed their resting places in passing by brushing against bushes and low branches overhanging the trail.

The team walked along largely in silence until they were well into the pine forest, with most of the conversation taken up by Seven's periodic reports on their progress toward the beacon. The signal was still too far away to be pinpointed by Chakotay's locator device, but since the trail was leading them in the right direction according to Seven's tricorder, Chakotay opted to follow it until otherwise indicated.

As they pushed deeper into the pine forest, Chakotay warned the team to be on the watch for snakes underfoot and possibly in the trees as well. Tom Paris was grateful for the heavy boots he was wearing, but was too jumpy worrying about a snake dropping down onto him from above to feel like needling the First Officer about anything.

After Chakotay's warning, the away team continued on in a more vigilant silence, with only Seven's updates and an occasional word or two from Chakotay. The pine forest gradually thinned until the away team emerged from it to find themselves on a low ridge. The rise in elevation had been so gradual that they had not even noticed it.

Once the team was fully out of the pines, relative quiet greeted them, broken only by an occasional screech from overhead and the sound of softly rustling marsh grasses carried on a slight breeze. It made a sharp contrast to the near-constant birdsong and plentiful insect buzzing and chirpings that had accompanied their trip through the forest.

About a kilometer and a half to the team's right, the river that had been near their location at the start of the hike poured its waters out into the marshland through an impenetrable tangle of vegetation and exposed spider-like aerial roots that dropped down from the trunks and lower limbs of the trees to the muddy river banks and into the water itself. The forested coastline to their left curved away and around to a small rocky promontory which jutted out into the marsh.

The ridge on which they stood overlooked an enormous sea of grass under an open, infinitely blue sky. The prairie stretched out to fill their entire field of vision, its furthest edges velvety against the horizon. Numerous hummocks of different sizes were silhouetted in the distance, but they were relatively small features on the sweeping green and gold vista before the away team. There was an occasional flash and glint from a sheet of water flowing beneath the sedge.

"Pa-hay-okee," said Chakotay.

"Commander?" asked Seven.

"It means 'grassy waters,' Seven," said Chakotay. "The Seminole tribes of Florida used the word to describe the Everglades, on Earth. This is what it must have looked like before the white man came and nearly destroyed it."

"Seven, 'Everglades' is just another word for swamp," said Paris. Turning to the First Officer, he said, "Hey, Chakotay. Whatcha wanna bet that kesto have Nardonian cousins just waiting to get a piece of you? I have a few extra vials of tricortisone with your name on them…"

Chakotay was about to snap out a retort when Tuvok said, "Mr. Paris, my tricorder indicates no large hordes of stinging insects for many kilometers in all directions. Evidently, this is not their breeding season. Try to contain your disappointment."

Before Paris could make a sarcastic comeback, Chakotay spoke up. "If I were you, Paris, I'd watch where I was walking once we're on that trail down there," he said, pointing to a narrow path below the ridge. If this 'swamp,' as you call it, is anything like the Everglades, there'll be plenty of big reptiles with sharp teeth lurking just off the trail. They'd probably enjoy a nice meaty pilot." Paris paled. "Oh, and Tom, speaking of 'off the trail,' don't get any bright ideas about exploring in another direction that appeals to you, unless sinking up to your nose in the muck sounds like fun. The marsh surface may look solid, but I'd bet you a week's rations it isn't."

"Right," said a visibly shaken Paris. His experience of being trapped in quicksand while on the previous week's away mission to Natra was still too recent for comfort. He remembered with a shudder just how close he had come to leaving his wife a young widow, and had no desire to repeat the experience.

The away team carefully worked their way down the steep slope of the earthen ridge, taking pains to avoid the visible patches of loose underlying rock protruding from beneath the soil. When they reached the foot of the path, Chakotay gave additional instructions. "As long as we're on this trail, we'll go single file, and again, remain alert for the wildlife. Watch out especially for snakes – there are likely to be species that swim very well in this kind of environment, no different than in a swamp back on Earth." He gave Paris a warning look and then took point, followed by the other three.

As rest of the team started down the trail, numerous long-legged birds caught their attention. Flocks of them dotted the marshland for as far as the team could see. Snowy plumed waders and striking dappled pale pink and white birds with long black legs dipped their heads into the shallow water that shimmered under the marsh grasses, searching for small fish and insects among the swamp lilies that grew in scattered clumps throughout the grassy prairie.

The away team broke the monotony of the hike by watching the wading birds feed and by trying to spot the occasional predatory bird flying overhead, whose cries broke the silence of the marsh. Tom Paris's nervous eyes picked out several of the large reptiles Chakotay had mentioned. They lay motionless and half-submerged in waterholes at some distance off the trail, occasionally splitting the air with their loud, bellowing mating calls. Paris fervently hoped that the reproductive urge would prove stronger than any possible hunger pangs the 10-foot long creatures might be having.

The marsh grass grew progressively taller the further away the team moved from the continent, until it finally towered more than a meter above their heads. Only the cries of the native wildlife coming to their ears told them they were not alone in the swamp.

Chakotay stopped for a moment and carefully ran his hand along the edge of one of the blades of marsh grass, and felt tiny serrated teeth scraping against his skin. "It's some variety of sawgrass," he said. "Be careful when you move it out of your way, and don't let it hit you in the face. It can cause one hell of a nasty cut."

The team acknowledged his advice and continued down the trail. After they had covered 1.7 kilometers, they came to a fork off the main trail, branching to the right.

"Which way, Seven?" asked Chakotay.

"The heading to the right is closest to where I am detecting the beacon signal."

"Right it is, then," said Chakotay. The away team started down the new path and continued for another .6 kilometer until the trail was diagonally intersected by a slow-moving broad channel of water with a thick growth of trees and shrubbery along its banks. The slough flowed toward one of the larger hummocks visible in the distance through gaps in the vegetation.

Chakotay asked, "Seven, would this take us any closer to the signal, or should we cross it and find an alternate route?"

"My readings suggest we follow this channel. Unless there is a radical change in its course further along, it leads in the proper direction. It appears that we will find more of the map in that location," she said, indicating one of the larger tree islands looming over the sawgrass prairie.

"All right, Seven," said Chakotay.

Tuvok broke into the discussion at this point, saying, "Commander, you have an inflatable raft in your backpack, as do I. Seven and Mr. Paris each have two paddles stowed in theirs. I suggest we proceed toward our destination by means of this waterway."

"Agreed, Tuvok." Turning to Seven and Paris, Chakotay said, "You heard the man. While you're at it, break out your rain gear. Unless I'm mistaken, we're in for a shower." He indicated the distant puffy white clouds with anvil-flat bottoms which were already beginning to darken. A faint rumbling in the distance easily carried to their ears across the sawgrass. "Storms can travel pretty fast in this kind of environment, even from as far away as that one is. We need to make good time before the rain hits."

"Aye, Commander," came the chorus of acknowledgements.

The team shed their backpacks and pulled out the equipment Tuvok and Chakotay specified, along with several lines they would need to secure themselves to the shore of the hummock once they reached it. They spent the next few minutes inflating the rafts and maneuvering them into the slough. Everyone then donned raingear, with an eye on the approaching storm. Chakotay climbed into the lead raft and took the paddles and two of the lines from Seven and laid them in the bottom. She then handed over both their backpacks, and Chakotay arranged them in the raft to balance the load. Once everything was settled, he reached up a hand to help Seven into a seated position behind him.

As Chakotay was about to push off from the bank with his paddle and into the middle of the slough, Tuvok stopped him, saying, "A moment, Commander." He leaned down to clip a line into a grommet on a tab at the back of the First Officer's raft, which was one of several that had been sewn into the raft's seams at regular intervals above the waterline on all four sides. Tuvok clipped the other end of the line to a corresponding grommet on the front of his raft, and then eased it into the slough behind Chakotay and Seven. After he had loaded and balanced the raft, he indicated for Tom to follow him in. Chakotay waited until Tuvok and Paris had settled themselves comfortably before giving the order to push off. They began their journey toward the hummock that Seven had indicated as the most probable location of the map.

A lush swamp forest grew along the banks of the slough, with a dense undergrowth of palms and clumps of ferns. Airplants and hanging moss grew on many of the trees, along with bromalieds in blossom and tree orchids. The air was again full of the sounds of birdsong and insect buzzing, and even the occasional croaking of frogs. The team heard the rustle of vegetation when the splashing of their paddles startled marsh rabbits and other small animals, which then fled deeper into the jungle-like undergrowth. Fruiting trees grew in the shallow edges of the slough, their blossom-laden lower limbs dipping close to the water.

After having paddled for over a kilometer and a half, the away team stopped to rest briefly under the fruit trees, out of the direct sunlight. Tuvok was able to reach up and secure several choice specimens of tree orchids and various airplants from the low-lying branches, stowing them in an empty compartment of his backpack. The away team watched as alien river otters slid into the water with a splash, competing with the birds in diving after the schools of small olive-colored fish that swam in the slough. Turtles briefly popped their heads above the water's surface from time to time before submerging again.

The away team resumed their trip toward the hummock. They had not been paddling for very long whenChakotay felt vibrations against his chest. He tapped his combadge and said, "Tuvok, my beacon device just activated. Make a note of these coordinates and we'll compare them against the final location of the quadlets. That'll give us some idea of this device's range."

"Coordinates noted, Commander."

They had paddled for another several minutes when Chakotay noticed through a large gap in the swamp forest that the earlier fluffy clouds had grown into high thunderheads that trailed a dark curtain of rain from their purplish bases. The storm was advancing toward them far too quickly for Chakotay's comfort.

He commed the Vulcan again. "Tuvok, we've only got couple minutes before that storm reaches us. From what I can tell through the trees, this channel is going to divide in another ten meters or so. Stay alert and prepare to adjust your heading on my signal."

"Acknowledged," said Tuvok.

They paddled the remaining distance in silence. The slough split to flow around the hummock. As Chakotay's raft emerged into the divided channel, he glanced to his left and spotted a low dock projecting from the edge of the shoreline. Looking up at the sky, he saw that the storm was nearly on top of them.

He commed the others while indicating the dock, ordering them to bear left and paddle toward it. Tuvok acknowledged Chakotay's order, and altered course once his raft was fully into the divided portion of the slough.

The water was shallower and swifter-moving here. Chakotay was worried about being carried past the end of the short dock before they could get close enough to moor their rafts. "Seven, paddle hard for the shoreline just above that dock or we'll be swept past by the current," he said. He tapped his combadge and relayed the message to Tuvok and Paris just as the slashing downpour burst over them, pelting the away team with hailstones mixed in with the rain.

Visibility around them lowered to a radius of several meters. Chakotay was forced to rely on all of his navigation skills to maintain his raft on the proper heading. He knew that Tuvok's superior strength would allow the Vulcan to fight the current and maintain an identical course, but Chakotay still heaved an inward sigh of relief when he felt his raft's nose bump up against the landward end of the dock, nearly on the soggy bank of the hummock.

He quickly threw lines over the pilings to secure his raft. The current swept the second craft up against the far end of the dock. Tuvok moored it at the front and passed lines back to Paris for him to secure them from the other end. The away team unloaded the backpacks and the paddles onto the dock, and then clambered up after their gear. Tuvok reached down to unclip the two rafts, and then the away team wrestled them up out of the water. They overturned the rafts to dump out the rainwater accumulated in the bottom before deflating and repacking them along with the paddles and lines.

The rain gradually slowed as the storm clouds quickly passed over them on their way to the continent. After a few minutes' work to stow their equipment, the away team took up their backpacks again and started down a rough boardwalk that led into the semi-tropical interior of the hummock. The tall canopy trees above them offered some protection from the trailing remnants of the thunderheads. The boardwalk was heavily overgrown along its sides, having obviously been cut through the understory some time ago. Trailing vines grew wild everywhere.

After a short hike, the team came to several fallen logs lying beside the path. The boardwalk continued on for a short distance, ending at the foot of a trail that disappeared into a tangle of shrubbery, palms, ferns, and creeping vines.

Chakotay called a halt for a rest break. "All right, everyone. This is a good time to have something to eat and sit for a while to acclimate yourselves to the humidity level in here. It'll only get worse the further in we go, and won't let up for several hours."

"Commander, if I may?" asked Tuvok.

"What is it, Tuvok?"

"My tricorder is showing several varieties of plant life nearby that appear to have medicinal properties. It would explain the relatively easy access to this place, and the trail that has been cut deeper into the interior. The local population undoubtedly travels here periodically to gather them."

"Go on," said Chakotay.

Tuvok continued. "Since I do not require rest at this time, I request permission to gather samples for the Doctor to study."

"Permission granted. Take soil samples while you're at it, in case he finds something useful that we can grow in Airponics."

"Understood." Leaning his backpack against one of the logs, Tuvok pulled out a rolled-up canvas sample bag. He transferred the plant specimens collected earlier from the backpack to the bag, along with several sample containers. Tuvok moved off into the understory to gather specimens for the Doctor while the rest of the away team took the time to rehydrate themselves and eat before the final push for the map.

After about twenty minutes, Tuvok returned with a nearly full sample bag. Several species of what appeared to be alien orchids protruded from its open top.

Tom smirked when he saw them and said, "Don't let Neelix see those, Tuvok, or they'll end up on my dinner plate instead in of your prize orchid collection."

Tuvok looked for a moment as if he intended to disavow any personal motivation for his desire to gather specimens, but settled instead for a raised eybrow and a very dry "Indeed." He joined the away team sitting beside the boardwalk, and drank deeply from his canteen before opening a field ration pack.

As the away team sat eating their lunch, they observed their surroundings. In addition to the heavy understory of ferns and shrubbery surrounding them, there was a wide variety of plant species that had been brought there as seeds by winds, storms, and migratory birds. Numerous airplants grew in the trees, and patches of moss carpeted the forest floor. Lichens and algae grew on the bark of the smaller tropical hardwoods and younger canopy trees that made up the hummock's midstory. Large tree snails with whorled white and buff colored shells striped with pink, yellow, and green moved along the bark of many of the smaller trees, so thoroughly feeding off the fungus and algae growing there that they left visible dark trails behind themselves on the trunks.

The team heard small animals scurrying through the thick understory, and hammering that sounded like woodpeckers. The hummock was alive with insect buzzing, birdsong and hooting calls. Bright yellow butterflies flitted overhead throughout the trees.

Tuvok's sharp eyes spotted a number of empty snail shells at the base of a tree across from where he sat. Casting his eyes upward, he noted several varieties of airplant and small pink and white butterfly orchids in bloom, just within reach if he stretched. He quickly finished his meal and stowed the trash from the empty ration pack in his backpack. Tuvok stood to collect the shells and to gather a few more plant specimens to fit into the beginning-to-bulge sample bag.

After another several minutes' rest, Chakotay stood and walked over to inspect the tangle of vegetation where the boardwalk ended and trail leading further into the hummock began. He said, "Tuvok,..."

"You'll find a machete in one of the side compartments of your backpack, Commander. I have one as well," responded the Vulcan, while he was busily collecting the fruit he saw growing on nearby strangler vines to test for edibility.

"Then you'd better come over here and help me clear some of this away so we can get moving again," said Chakotay.

"Acknowledged."

"Fine by me, too," said Paris. "I can't wait to get back to _Voyager_. I'm overdressed for this damned sauna, and these trees keep dripping on me. What I wouldn't give to be someplace cool and dry right now."

"Your comfort is irrelevant, Lieutenant. We are here to retrieve the rest of the map so we can return to normal space," said Seven.

"Gee, you're all heart, Seven," Paris said.

Chakotay winced at Seven's bluntness, grateful that the former drone's social development was not his responsibility. Although Paris' complaining had been getting on his nerves, he felt Seven's disregard for Tom's feelings to be unnecessarily harsh, even bordering on unintentional cruelty. He resolved to mention it to the Doctor once they were back on _Voyager_ so that the EMH could incorporate a few protocols into her social lessons to cover tactful professional discourse while on away missions.

"On your feet, Paris, and help us clear this trail," said Chakotay. "I wouldn't want to keep you away too long from being able to adjust the temperature in your quarters to your liking."

"Can't you just phaser that stuff out of your way?" asked Paris.

"I'm not going to damage this ecosystem any more than I have to, Lieutenant," snapped Chakotay. "It's fragile enough to begin with."

"Right... the sanctity of life and all that," sniped Paris. Ignoring Chakotay's glower, Paris walked over and began pulling the severed vines and foliage out of the way. "Why don't I just help you with this. The faster I'm out of this oven, the happier I'll be."

Chakotay gave Paris one final glare, and then turned back to the work of clearing away the overgrown trail head. With the three of them working and Seven giving directional indications, they finally uncovered a path leading into the deeper forest. Chakotay could see that there was a natural trail beyond this point that was not as heavily blocked as where they had been working.

The team returned to the fallen logs and their backpacks and again rested for several minutes. They drank heavily from their canteens, pulling out some of their reserve water supply to refill them before starting the hike.

Chakotay led them down the trail deeper into the hummock, with his locator device and Seven's readings confirming that they were indeed moving toward the beacon signal. Although the trail itself was not as completely overgrown as its head, the team still had to stop occasionally to hack away at ferns and small cabbage palms so they could continue moving toward the signal. Finally, a nearly impenetrable thicket overrun with vines blocked their path. Chakotay could see open space ahead as they began to clear it, slicing though the obstruction. With a final effort, the team burst though the growth blocking the trail and found themselves in a vast, sunlit forest room, open to the blue sky above.

As they walked further into the grassy space, the team heard rustling behind them and turned to watch as the undergrowth they had just cut through to enter the room closed up behind them, sealing them in. As Paris began complaining about having to cut a new path out when they were ready to leave, Seven stepped away from the rest of the team to follow her tricorder readings.

"What is it, Seven?" asked Chakotay.

"I have localized a point of origin for the beacon signal, Commander. It would appear to be in the center of this place," she said.

"What? Now we have to dig up the map?" complained Paris. There's no place else in here to hide it. I hope you packed a shovel, Tuvok."

Tuvok merely raised an eyebrow, ignoring him to follow Seven and Chakotay as they walked toward the middle of the forest room. Paris trailed after them, grumbling to himself.

Seven finally stopped walking and said, "This is where the beacon signal is strongest, Commander."

Chakotay stepped up beside Seven to check her tricorder readings and felt his locator device deactivate itself. He turned to inform Tuvok, but before he could say a word, the sub-tropical temperature dropped precipitously, and black walls shot upward from the perimeter of the forest room. It happened so quickly that the away team reflexively drew their phasers and assumed a defensive posture with their backs to one another, facing outward in four directions.

The walls continued rising skyward and curved in on themselves until they formed into a domed ceiling. The away team found themselves completely surrounded on all sides by the Mapkeeper's skywall, towering hundreds of meters above the forest floor. Constellations and stellar phenomena filled its velvety blackness, where before there had been only sky and the unrelenting green of the surrounding hummock forest through which they had been traveling.

Seven was rendered speechless. Chakotay looked at her with a quizzical expression. When she finally became aware of his gaze upon her, Seven said, "The Borg have no record of any such phenomenon, nor is there anything comparable in _Voyager's_ astrometric database. I understand now why the boy wished to go with Horus the Map Keeper."

"Now that you mention it, I wonder where Horus is," said Paris. "This place gives me the creeps. I can feel someone watching us."

"Mr. Horus may well have us under observation," said Tuvok. "Anyone with the ability to create this skywall wheresoever he chooses would certainly be capable of a similarly advanced level of surveillance."

"We don't appear to be in any apparent danger for the moment, Paris, so why don't you focus on retrieving the map," said Chakotay. "I know how eager you are to return to _Voyager_ and get your hands on the environmental controls in your quarters."

"Yeah, right," said Paris, giving Chakotay an annoyed look. "Let's get on with it."

Seven took several more readings and then began to scan the skywall into her tricorder as Chakotay and Paris fanned out across the grassy space to search for clues that would lead them to the map's location. Tuvok reached into his backpack, and withdrew the sole quadlet of the Second Portal map in their possession. He knelt on the spot where Seven had indicated the beacon signal was strongest. Glancing at the quadlet to quickly refresh his memory, he then began a systematic visual survey of the skywall from the top downward.

"Over there, Commander," Tuvok called out finally, indicating an area within a tall man's reach, roughly 2.13 meters above the forest floor. It was near the spot where the away team had broken through the undergrowth to enter the space. Tuvok rose to his feet and walked over to that section of skywall, which was blurred in a manner similiar to the completed First Portal map when he had initially been meditating over it.

The rest of the team joined Tuvok as he reached up to hold the top edge of the single quadlet of the Second Portal map against the skywall. Two more quadlets popped free of the wall, and slid down to fuse on top of the one Tuvok held. Once that process was complete, Chakotay took the fused quadlets from Tuvok to examine them further. The away team waited for a few moments to see if they would be automatically transported back to _Voyager_, as had happened when they retrieved the First Portal quadlets from Horus' skywall on Abras.

"It would appear that the quadlets retrieved must complete the map before it will transport the Map Finder's away team back to its point of origin," said Tuvok.

"In that case," said the First Officer, tapping his combadge, "Chakotay to _Voyager_."

"Janeway here. Harry's getting some very strange readings from your location, Commander. Is everything all right down there?"

"We're fine, Captain, and it looks like we're done. I'll explain once we're back. It's too complicated to put into a few words," said Chakotay.

"Acknowledged. Stand by for transport. Janeway out."

The transporter's whine broke the quiet of the enclosed space as blue beams caught the four and whisked them away. After the beamout was complete, the air within the space shimmered and Icheb appeared. He smiled, and making a broad sweeping gesture with his arm, both he and the skywall vanished.

Back on _Voyager_, 1440 hours:

"This was too easy," said Tom Paris, as the team stepped down off the transporter pads.

"We're not done yet, Paris," said Chakotay. "We don't have all of the map."

"It is my suspicion that the remaining quadlet will not be found on Nardonia, Commander," observed Tuvok. "The coordinates undoubtedly lie somewhere in what we now possess of the Second Portal map."

"Then you'll need this," Chakotay said, handing over the fused quadlets he still held.

"Permission to return to quarters and resume my study of the map," Tuvok said.

"Granted," said Chakotay. "The rest of us will brief the Captain. I'll advise her of your whereabouts."

Tuvok nodded. "I will report to her once I have derived any further useful information."

"Agreed. Dismissed." The away team left the transporter room to begin the process of determining their course of action for retrieving the remaining quadlet.

Meanwhile, on Gunlag's ship:

Once the Tarkada spy Jerat had been beamed back to the cloaked shuttle hovering near _Voyager_, he immediately sent an encrypted message with his scans of _Voyager's_ tactical database simultaneously back to all three ships of the Magol alliance. At Fflam's urging, Jerat also included the Magol First Officer's report detailing the away mission to Nardonia, and the Map Finder's prominent role in leading his team to the first quadlet of the Second Portal map. Upon receiving Jerat's message, the alliance met aboard the _Herat_ to begin formulating a preliminary strategy. Once the cloaked shuttle finally arrived back at the alliance's coordinates, Jerat would be thoroughly debriefed by the three captains, and the rudimentary plan would be revised and fine-tuned.

Gunlag was overjoyed and enraged by turns upon receiving Jerat's message. He had suspected the Captain of _Voyager_ of treachery when the Map Finder had slipped through Magol grasp. Flamm's report in the encrypted message describing how the Map Finder had led the away mission to the Nardonian marketplace only confirmed for Gunlag that _Voyager's_ crew had somehow been responsible for snatching the Map Finder away from him and causing the damage to the _Herat's_ internal sensor nodes. Janeway would pay -- he would see to it personally.

"She deceived us somehow," raged Gunlag, as he paced his bridge waiting for the cloaked shuttle to return. "She used another one of her sly tricks to fool our sensors, but it will do her no good. The _Herat's_ weapons and shields are superior," he exulted. "_We_ will prevail."

Jerat, Imot, and Fflam entered the bridge in time to hear the end of Gunlag's tirade. Gunlag rounded on them and snarled, "What took you so long?"

"Patience, Captain. The delay was worthwhile," said Fflam. "Jerat placed short-range surveillance devices on _Voyager_, so we waited until we could bring you the results of their search for the map."

"Did you also bring me news of what they intend to do next?"

"Our Expendable decided that information was not necessary," said Fflam, with a snicker. "He had another one of his ideas."

Gunlag glared at Imot, who quickly jumped into the conversation. "Captain Gunlag, they are able to locate the pieces of the map by a special frequency it emits. Jerat was on their vessel long enough to learn what it was, and with the help of Abuskat sensors, we can track the signal to the location of the final piece."

"Final piece?" asked Gunlag.

"They have only recovered three pieces thus far, Captain Gunlag," said Jerat. "Using the same frequency as _Voyager_, the alliance can easily pinpoint the location of the fourth with the Abuskat-enhanced sensors and recover it before they do. That would give you significant leverage in your dealings with the alien captain."

"Or you could allow them to recover the final piece," said Imot, "and then take the completed map from them as they took the Map Finder from you. The _Herat_ has tactical and weapons superiority over _Voyager_. Once you capture their ship, you have the map, and the Map Finder as well."

"Then we will wait until they complete the map, and steal it from them. I will enjoy seeing the look of defeat on the face of that arrogant piece of garbage they call their captain, just before I push her out an airlock." He remembered Janeway's "tough shit" expletive when she refused to honor her promise to share the secrets of the map with him, and instead left him to the mercy of the Beast of the First Portal. An evil smile spread across his face as he said, "She will never curse me again."

Day 9

Tuvok's Quarters, toward evening:

Tuvok knelt on the floor in his accustomed meditative posture, his darkened quarters lit only by candlelight. The nearby meditation lamp cast its soft glow directly over the two sets of map quadlets that lay on the floor before him.

He was mentally preparing himself for his study of the map. Having already committed the completed First Portal section to memory for his meditation when Voyager initially found itself in alternate space, he picked up the incomplete set of fused Second Portal quadlets and began to examine them. Tuvok began at the top and worked slowly downward, methodically noting similarities and differences between the First and Second Portal sets. His eyes were drawn to an unusually clear area on the incomplete Second Portal map. It was almost entirely transparent, devoid of any markings that could be considered star clusters. Tuvok realized that the nearly transparent area corresponded to the location of the indistinct portion of the First Portal map that had activated and realigned itself during his previous meditation. He took special note of this peculiarity and finished his memorization of the incomplete set of quadlets.

Compelled by an internal prompting that the Captain would no doubt refer to as a "hunch," Tuvok laid the partial Second Portal map over the completed First Portal set of quadlets. He closed his eyes and settled his mind into a state of repose, waiting for an inner prompting to assert itself and guide his thoughts.

As he meditated, Tuvok gradually sensed the presence of an energy building and about to burst forth. He opened his eyes in time to see movement in the depths of the realigned First Portal map portion directly beneath the transparent area of the incomplete set of quadlets. It appeared as though a fluid current of some kind was welling up into the Second Portal map from the still-active section of the first set of quadlets just below. The energy current was creating star clusters where previously there had been none. As the new patterns came into focus, the rest of the Second Portal map dimmed, leaving the newly emerged portion highlighted in sharp contrast. When Tuvok picked up the Second Portal quadlets to study them more closely, he observed that the First Portal map was now completely deactivated. It had completed its last remaining function -- that of serving as a catalyst for revealing vital information, as it had been designed to do by the beings who had originally scattered the pieces of the map.

Tuvok asked the computer for Seven's location as he reached for the tricorder he had placed by his side earlier for just such a possibility. A quick scan revealed another encrypted file imbedded in the newly emerged portion of the Second Portal map, and verified a familiar active subspace beacon frequency for star patterns obviously meant to indicate their course to the location of the final quadlet. Tuvok extinguished his meditation lamp. Calling for illumination, he picked up both sets of quadlets and rose from the floor. Once he had extinguished the candles, Tuvok left his quarters, headed for Astrometrics.

Day 10, 1125 hours:

_Captain's Log, Stardate 54083.5_

_Ship's systems are functioning normally, thanks to a combination of Lieutenant Paris's "Galaxy-class solution" and adapted alien technology from the Nardonian marketplace. Navigational and external sensors are finally operating within Starfleet tolerances._

_Engineering has fully restored warp power with additional assistance from Crewman Harren. We are on course for an uninhabited M-Class planet, where we expect to retrieve the final quadlet of the Second Portal map. According to sensors, the Magol are approximately 14 hours behind us, which puts the pressure on to retrieve the remaining quadlet and get through the Second Portal before they catch up to us. We'll be cutting it very close._

Once _Voyager's_ new course had been revealed the previous evening, Tuvok verified the information with Seven's assistance, and then both of them proceeded to completely decrypt the hidden file embedded in the newly revealed portion of the Second Portal map. When that was complete, Tuvok contacted the Captain to request that she meet with him and Seven in astrometrics, where the three discussed the findings until mission parameters for the final quadlet's retrieval came into focus. Janeway ordered the helm to set course for an unnamed planet some two days away at warp.

In astrometrics 1408 hours:

In the following morning's briefing, Janeway asked the team for the new away mission to assemble in astrometrics at 1400 hours, with the addition of Harry Kim. Tom Paris showed a great deal of enthusiasm about retrieving the final quadlet until Seven reported the information revealed when the Second Portal map realigned.

"You expect me to do what?" yelped Paris.

"This from the man who was going to repair a Monean field reactor single-handedly under 600 kilometers of ocean in only an environmental suit," said Kim. "This mission should be a piece of cake for you, Tom."

Janeway raised an eyebrow at Tom and said, "I don't remember reading about that in your survey report of Monean technology."

"Well..." Paris turned away to whisper "Thanks a lot, buddy" to Kim quietly under his breath. One look at his friend's face told Kim that he was in for major payback.

Paris fell silent, and everyone in astrometrics turned their attention back to the dome, where the star map Tuvok had found in the incomplete Second Portal set of quadlets was on the screen. It was overlaid with a schematic representing _Voyager's_ course to the nameless planet on which the final quadlet was concealed.

Seven had just verified an extremely faint beacon signal on long-range sensors and determined its approximate location to be deep inside a series of subterranean and partially submerged caverns. According to the encrypted file, the only stable entrance to the underground system was well below the surface of a semi-tropical ocean on the unnamed planet toward which they were now proceeding at warp.

"Can't we just beam into where that signal is coming from and take it from there?" asked Paris.

"Inadvisable," said Seven. "The density and magnetic properties of the rock surrounding the caverns are interfering with my efforts to determine the precise location of the quadlet at this distance. Even if _Voyager's _sensors are able to pinpoint it once we are orbit, an analysis of the data in the encrypted file reveals that these same properties would interfere with the transporter's targeting scanners."

"There is also a dispersion field set up around the entire site, including the underwater entrance to the cavern system," said Tuvok. "It is designed to further scatter transporter signals. Safe transport to coordinates within the field is virtually impossible."

"Then why don't we beam down to a point on the surface outside the field, and find another entrance?" asked Paris. "If I remember my basic geology, this type of solution cavern formation is due to water dissolving its way downward through fissures in porous limestone rock. There's got to be more than one entrance to the system."

"There is none other that is useable," said Seven. "The encrypted file does confirm a surface entrance, but it is in a state of total collapse and has blocked deeper access to the cavern system from above. Even if an alternate opening could be found in the karst topography, the file notes that the substrata through which it might pass is highly unstable and susceptible to further movement. The only other usable entrance to the cavern system is underwater."

"Maybe the file is wrong," said Paris. "Who knows how old that information is?"

"I have verified most of the file's geological data on Borg-enhanced long-range astrometric sensors, Lieutenant. Further scans once _Voyager_ is in orbit will only reinforce present findings," said Seven.

Tuvok said, "As I stated earlier, Mr. Paris, the safest method for retrieving the final quadlet of the map is to use the _Delta Flyer_ as an underwater staging area from which to enter the cavern system via the underwater entrance. We will use modified environmental suits while in the submerged passageway, with scuba gear as a backup. Our enhanced tricorders should allow us to follow the subspace beacon signal to the final quadlet, with the Commander's locator device providing definitive verification. I have determined that the scattering field surrounding the cavern system will not affect our scanning technology once we are inside its perimeter."

"What I still don't understand is why you need _me_ swimming around in underwater caves, Tuvok," said Paris. "The open water diving I had to do in the Coral Sea for zero-G training was bad enough. I should stay on the _Flyer _once it's underwater, just to keep its location stationary and monitor the immersion shielding. We can't let it drift unattended."

"That's going to be my job," said Kim. He laughed and asked, "What's the matter, Tom? Claustrophobic already?"

"No," Tom scoffed, "of course not. I love the water – really, I do." He continued with a slight undercurrent of panic in his voice. "The truth is… I barely passed Zero-G training. The only thing that course really taught me is that I'm so much happier _on_ the ocean rather than under it. If I have to be underwater, I'm more comfortable inside a submersible vehicle where I don't need an envirosuit to be able to breathe."

"Sorry, Tom," said Janeway. "Until we have more experience with retrieving quadlets, I'm going to keep the original map team intact as often as I can."

"Harry's got caving experience," said Paris, making one last effort to change the Captain's mind. "Let him do it instead of me."

"Harry?" asked Chakotay.

"I had a roommate at the Academy who belonged to the North American Speleological Society, Commander. Danny took me to one of their annual TAG Fall Cave-Ins during my freshman year, and that got me interested in caving," said Kim.

"TAG?" asked Seven as she arched an eybrow.

"It stands for Tennessee-Alabama-Georgia, Seven. It's an important caving region in North America on Earth. Danny would spend most of his weekends and vacations underground, and I'd join him whenever I was free."

Kim looked over at Paris and smirked. "Look at it this way, Tom -- at least you wouldn't be crawling through bat guano," said Kim. "Take it from one who knows." Paris shuddered.

"You might even enjoy it, Tom," said Janeway. "Right before I entered the Academy, my boyfriend and I went cave diving. We were just going to camp underground and explore a few unmapped passages, but I ended up discovering the first chordate fossil ever found on Mars."

"I remember reading something about that in my exobiology course at the Academy," said Paris. "That must have been a real thrill."

"It was," said Janeway, "but the formations I saw once we surfaced into an air pocket got me just as excited. Even if you only have to dive like this once, Tom, it's worth it to see a natural process of mineral formation that's been going on for millions of years. I've never forgotten how beautiful that underground world was. I miss it."

"No argument there, Captain," said Chakotay. "When I was a teenager, my cousin Paka and I would go diving in "the giant birdcage" on the Mayan Riviera as often as we could.

"No Ho Chich," said Kim. "That cenote is still the longest underwater cave system on Earth, even centuries after its discovery."

"And your father let you go? Wasn't it dangerous?" asked Tom.

"For starters, Paris, I was already an experienced swimmer by that time. Paka was several years older than me and had his technical diving certification for overhead environments, so my father knew I was in good hands. No Hoch had been completely mapped centuries before and had a system of permanent guidelines in place, so there was no danger of the two of us getting lost inside," said Chakotay. "My father gave us his blessing to spend as much time as we wanted in Xibalba."

"Xibalba?" asked Seven.

"The Mayan underworld, Seven," answered Chakotay. "The cenotes were considered passageways to the afterlife."

"No offence, Commander," said Paris, "but a couple of teenagers in an underwater cave…"

"He encouraged our diving expeditions, Paris. He'd be above ground studying some dusty ruin in the jungle, and the two of us would be jumping into every cenote and blue hole we could find. There's thousands of them in the Yucatan, and Paka and I wanted to dive in as many as we could. It was just our idea of a good time, but my father assumed we were taking a firsthand interest in exploring our Native American heritage, and we didn't discourage him from thinking that. Since Paka always said a ritual prayer to Chac before we entered a cenote, he felt that my namesake would protect me from harm."

"Chac?" asked Kim.

"The Mayan god of rain."

"Wait a minute," said Paris. "You're telling me you were named after some Mayan god? That explains a lot."

Kim gave a snort of suppressed laughter. Janeway suddenly got very interested in studying the map data on the console. She knew that she would have herself quite a chuckle over Paris's comment once she recalled it when alone in her ready room, but for the moment, Janeway knew that a hearty belly laugh with her crew would make her appear uncaptainly. She also knew she could count on Tuvok to get them back on track, and he did not disappoint.

"_Mr_. Paris," said Tuvok. It felt as though the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped several degrees.

"So you're an experienced cave diver," said Paris. "I take it you'll be leading the team, then."

"Smooth, Tom," whispered Kim.

"I thought so," whispered Paris back.

Chakotay ignored Kim's and Paris's whispers. Janeway ignored them all.

"I would say so, Paris," said Chakotay.

Janeway had regained her composure by this time. "You were luckier than me," she said. "The first time I went cave diving, I was fourteen and didn't bother to ask for permission because I knew I'd never get it. My family was on Mars for our summer vacation, and I'd snuck off to go swimming in the quarries with two girlfriends when Mark showed up. He and his father had been mapping the underwater passages, so he knew the caves pretty well. My girlfriends deserted me and my father caught us when Mark and I surfaced after our dive. He grounded me for a week with no holodeck privileges. After that, it was always a major production to get permission. A lot of the time, I'd just go without asking if I thought I could get away with it." Janeway sighed and said, "You probably have the most useful experience of any of us, Chakotay."

"Sounds like it," he said. "I also have a personal cenote diving holoprogram that could be modified to bring the away team up to speed. We all had to learn open water diving as first-year cadets for our zero-G training, so that's a starting point."

"Except for Seven," said Paris.

"I will adapt," answered the former drone, in a tone that sounded to Paris more like a challenge than anything else.

"Tuvok," said Chakotay, "Why don't you give me a hand with modifying the program to use as training for this mission?"

"Oh, that should be good. You don't even swim, Tuvok," said Paris, back in sarcastic mode.

"On the contrary, Lieutenant. I was an Academy zero-G instructor for a number of years. Although I would not pursue swimming or diving as off-duty activities, I am as proficient in them as any Academy graduate. As an instructor, I found the underwater environment to be a peaceful refuge from all the rampant emotionalism and illogic bombarding me on a daily basis."

"Looks like it's time to either put up or shut up, Tom," said Kim.

"All right, guys," said Paris with a sigh. "I give. "When do we start?"

"Tuvok?" asked the Captain.

"There is approximately a day and a half's travel time remaining before _Voyager _reaches its destination. If the Commander and I begin modifying his program immediately, we could hold a training session tomorrow at 1300 hours, Captain. I will conduct a review of basic open water techniques, and then defer to the Commander's expertise for instruction in cave environments."

"Sounds like we have our plan," said Janeway. "The away team will reconvene in holodeck two tomorrow at 1300, with the exception of Mr. Kim. B'Elanna will be running a diagnostic on the immersion shielding, since we haven't used it in a while. Harry, I want you to join her and work on a way to get the away team into the ocean through the shielding once the Flyer is submerged."

"Aye, Captain."

"If there's nothing further, you're all dismissed to return to duty stations except for Chakotay and Tuvok," said Janeway. "Keep me updated on your progress in developing the training scenario."

"Agreed," said Tuvok.

Janeway, Paris, and Kim returned to the bridge for the balance of their shifts, while Chakotay and Tuvok headed for the holographic laboratory to begin work on modifying the cenote diving program. Seven remained in astrometrics to continue her efforts at correlating her sensor data with the encrypted file to further refine it for the upcoming mission.

**Day 11**

Holodeck 2, 1304 hours:

"You're not helping, Harry," said Paris. He wore a modified envirosuit and had his helmet and fins in hand as he walked down the corridor with Kim on the way to the holodeck. "I asked you why I might need to use a breathing gill, and you start talking about 'the grim crawl of death' and 'the 18-hour girdle.'"

"Well, buddy, I just want you to be prepared for the worst," answered Kim. "Did I mention 'The Devil's Pinch'?"

"Harry…"

"Just under 6 meters long, a meter wide, 18 to 25 centimeters high, sloping floor…"

"Harry…"

"…ceiling lined with knifelike ridges that dig at your chest like Doc might if he decided to use an old-fashioned scalpel…"

Tom stopped walking. "Harry, that's enough. If I have to squeeze myself through a space that small, I'm turning around and swimming back out, and you can beam me back onto the _Flyer_."

"Not if Tuvok has anything to say about it," said Kim. They resumed walking down the corridor in silence. After a few moments, Kim said, "Seriously, Tom, you might run into a passage that's just too damn narrow to swim through, even with your streamlined helmet. You'd have to remove it along with the air unit and switch to the regulator. Or the envirosuit could snag and tear on a formation, or get sliced up on velcro in a narrow passage."

"Velcro?"

"Caver's lingo, Capt. Proton. That's our name for the fossilized burrows of ancient sea creatures that stick out of the rock in limestone caves. They're usually razor sharp and rip the hell out of anything that touches them."

"Thanks, Harry. This mission is sounding better and better by the minute," said Paris.

"On the other other hand, Tom, it could be an easy swim all the way to the quadlet," said Kim as they reached the holodeck and Tom punched in his code to enter. "You won't really know until you're inside the system."

The holodeck doors opened, and Paris turned to join the away team already waiting for him on the grid. Kim said, "Just remember, Tom, Captain Nemo to the rescue!"

"Very funny, Harry," said Paris as he stepped inside the holodeck.

"Enjoy yourself," Kim called out just before the doors snapped shut.

Tuvok, Seven, and Chakotay were already suited up and waiting for him on the hologrid. "You're five minutes late, Lieutenant," said Tuvok.

Paris scowled at Tuvok in reply and then ignored the Vulcan for the moment as he sat down on the floor to slip his fins over the shoe-like feet of his envirosuit. He deliberately took a few extra moments to make certain that they were on properly before he stood. Once on his feet, Paris opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark when Seven interrupted him.

"If you will now secure your helmet, instruction will commence… Captain Nemo," she said with a lift of her ocular implant and a slight smile.

"Fine," said Paris. Let's get this over with." He reached around and grabbed the hose from the air unit on the back of the envirosuit and attached it to his helmet, which he then put on and checked the seal to be certain it was tight.

Tuvok began, "As you know, these envirosuits have been streamlined for the purpose of diving in an enclosed space. They will compensate for the increased pressure at the depth where we will enter the ocean, and will also insulate you against the chill of the water. The air unit on the back is detachable, should you need to pass it through a tight passageway, and I caution you to remain aware of the air hose at all times to see that it does not become snagged or torn. We will maneuver using the thruster belts you are wearing, and once inside the cave system, by means of dive scooters where there is enough space to use them safely."

Tuvok bent down and picked up equipment packs to hand out to each of the team members. He said, "Each of you will attach this waterproof pack to your belt, next to your scuba mask and regulator, as I have done with mine. The pack will contain rations, drinking water, and any additional items I may deem necessary after we have concluded this training session. Mr. Paris, you will carry an additional pack containing a medkit along with the rest of your gear."

"Right," said Paris.

"Are there any questions?" asked Tuvok. Paris looked as though he was about to say something snide, but a glare from Chakotay put a stop to it.

Tuvok said, "We will keep an open comm link among the four of us at all times. Turn on your Sims beacons and your helmet lamps, and then orient yourself spatially." Four wrist beacons snapped on, followed by the helmet lamps. Tuvok waited until they were ready and then said, "Computer, engage Training Scenario –Chakotay Tuvok 1."

"Program engaged."

Suddenly, the away team found themselves floating eight fathoms down in sapphire blue water. There was only a faint glimmer of sunlight above them to indicate the ocean's surface, with measureless deep blue below as the bottom of the ocean dropped to unknown depths. Paris became disoriented almost immediately and began to flail around wildly with his arms and legs, his body desperately seeking a direction it could identify as "up."

"Mr. Paris," said Tuvok. "Calm yourself." He swam over and took Paris's arm as Chakotay came up on the helmsman's other flank and took the other arm.

"Look to your left, Tom," said Chakotay.

In the distance, Paris saw the shadowy outline of the _Delta Flyer_, with its spotlight, running lights and nacelle housing gleaming through the deep blue surrounding them. He relaxed and adjusted his spatial orientation relative to the _Flyer_.

"We will not be descending from the surface, Mr. Paris, but will be beamed into open water a short distance from the _Flyer_," said Tuvok. "You must be prepared to orient yourself visually in relation to it."

"You could have warned me," said Paris.

"You were told to orient yourself at the beginning of this exercise, Lieutenant," said Seven. "You must adapt beyond your reluctance to undertake this mission or you will endanger us all. Are you sufficiently recovered to proceed with the training?"

"Give me a minute."

The rest of the away team waited until Tom's breathing and heart rate slowed to normal. Tuvok then began a review of open water diving techniques, and put the team through a series of exercises until he was satisfied with their skill level. The four then descended another two fathoms to the entrance of an underwater cavern. Tuvok handed off the training session to Chakotay, who proceeded to drill his charges in the proper navigation of cave environments.

When Chakotay felt their mastery of his instruction was complete, he and Tuvok then worked with Seven and Paris on switching to breathing gills within the cave system and scuba techniques specific to that part of the mission. This was followed by instruction in the use of the small dive scooters that would save their energy should the journey through the cave system prove to be very long. After several hours of drill, both Tuvok and Chakotay were satisfied that Seven and Paris had acquired the necessary skills for a successful mission to retrieve the final quadlet of the map.

"Computer, end training program," called out Tuvok. The hologrid reappeared around the away team. Paris looked especially happy to be standing on a solid surface once again.

"We will reconvene in the shuttlebay tomorrow at 0600 hours. I would advise a good night's rest, as the physical demands of this mission will be at least as rigorous as these training exercises and possibly more so," said Tuvok. "Mr. Paris, you will report to the Doctor for instruction in possible medical emergency scenarios after you have stowed your envirosuit."

"That means no Sandrine's for you tonight, Paris, after you're done with the Doctor," said Chakotay with a grin, "and you can give Captain Proton the evening off, too."

"Gee, you're a fun date, Chakotay," said Paris.

Seven cocked an eyebrow and said, "I must regenerate."

"And with that, you're all dismissed," said Chakotay.

**Day 12**

Unnamed planet, 0600 hours:

The _Delta Flyer_ hurtled downward through a golden haze toward a vast molten sea, and broke its surface with a large splash. Harry Kim began to maneuver the shuttle toward the designated coordinates for their staging area. The soothing blue surrounding them was a welcome relief after the intense brightness from the planet's twin suns. The shade deepened toward sapphire as the _Flyer_ settled into position.

The shuttle finally came to a stop 10 fathoms below the surface of the ocean. Kim took up a station roughly a kilometer from an underwater cliff that was part of the continental shelf. The cliff dropped off into unknown inky depths.

"If the four of you want to gear up, I'll start calibrating the annular confinement beam to match the immersion shielding nutation," said Kim. "We've just passed the cycle restart, so you'll have about five minutes before there's a window for me to beam you out."

"Got it, Harry," said Chakotay. "You heard the man. Secure your helmets and get your gear." The away team left the cockpit and entered the mission module to finish their preparations. Kim followed them into the back a few minutes later to perform the transport from there, just as Tuvok was reminding the team to keep an open comm link. They stepped onto the _Flyer's_ transporter pads.

"Good hunting," Kim said as he tapped several commands into a panel and watched the away team dematerialize. He returned to the cockpit to check that the _Flyer_ was holding station and that the team's subspace transponders were working. Several moments later, his comm panel beeped and he put it on audio.

"Chakotay to Kim."

"Kim here, Commander. Your signals are coming through loud and clear. You're good to go."

"That's what I wanted to hear. We'll check in with you once we've recovered the quadlet."

"Aye, sir. Kim out."

The away team spread out slightly and began scanning for the beacon signal. Tom Paris immediately oriented himself in relation to the _Flyer_, so there was no repetition of the previous day's panic. The tricorders read the dispersion field set up around the cliff as the team approached and then passed though it without difficulty. They could have easily guessed the location of the underwater cliff without tricorders, since there was a luxurious giant kelp forest growing in front of it from holdfasts securely anchored to the rockface deep below. The kelp forest was not as large as some that Chakotay had encountered while swimming off Baja California as a cadet, but he was concerned about Seven and Paris, who had no experience in dealing with the phenomenon.

"Hold up, everybody," said Chakotay. "We didn't plan for this scenario, but it shouldn't pose a large obstacle. The kelp is fairly well spaced out, so we should be able maneuver though it easily. Seven and Paris -- if you find yourself tangled up, just snap off the stipe and free yourself, or wait for Tuvok or myself to come over and help you. The fronds will be moving with the current, so stay sharp to keep yourself out of their way."

The away team moved through the kelp forest without much difficulty. A frond snagged on Seven's waterproof pack when the current shifted unexpectedly, but she was able to free herself without assistance.

The planet's intense sunlight proved to be an advantage at their depth. It easily penetrated much further down into the ocean than Chakotay would have expected. The shimmering rays filtering through the kelp made the trip through the forest a thing of beauty. Bright orange and yellow fish swam among the waving fronds, and the team occasionally noticed a crustacean staring at them with beady eyes from within the blades of kelp. Small fish and snails clung to the blades of the seaweed, along with anemones which grew on the stipes. Schools of silvery fish darted among the fronds. The ambient light in the kelp forest suddenly darkened as a shadow passed over the team, and they looked up to see a large mammal swimming through the canopy several fathoms above their position. They watched it pass and then returned their attention to the mission. As they drew nearer to their destination, the team could see alien corals and sponges growing from the cliff wall.

Paris was startled by the bright strobe of a holoimager nearby. "What the hell was that?"

"The Doctor asked that I return with pictures of our mission," said Seven. "I have already taken several without attracting your notice. You will adapt."

"I'm not sure yet I want to relive this experience," Paris said.

"Get over it, Paris," said Chakotay. It's not such a bad idea to have a visual record to supplement our tricorder readings. Besides, you heard the captain. She misses diving, and I'm not going to deprive her of one of the Doctor's holographic slideshows that I know she'd really enjoy for a change."

"All right, already. You've made your point," Paris grumbled to Chakotay. "Just don't point that camera in my direction, Seven. Doc's snapshot of me after I fell into the fetid mudpits of Palomar was enough public humiliation for a lifetime."

"Agreed, Lieutenant," said Seven with a smirk. "I will comply." She then proceeded to capture several images of the masses of coral and sponges growing from the wall. The depth at which they were diving combined with the thickness of the kelp forest near the cliff muted the colors of the fauna, but the flash from Seven's holocamera briefly illuminated them and made the vibrant reds, oranges and golds of the rope and barrel sponges and purples and pinks of the coral momentarily visible, along with some of the unusual crustaceans and fish that called the underwater reef home.

Delicate pink anemones and sea urchins nestled deeper within the reef, and as Seven better positioned herself to take a few shots of them, Paris thought, _This is going to make a slideshow even I wouldn't mind seeing. The captain is gonna love it._

"Over here," Chakotay called out over the envirosuits' comm system. The rest of the team swam to his position and saw a dark gash among the profusion of aquatic life growing on the cliff wall. Chakotay had located the entrance to the cave system. A large eel swam near the entrance, with several more visible just inside the cavern. Cleaner fish swarmed around them, removing parasites from their skin. A small colony of lobster-like creatures skittered away from the beam of the Sims beacon when Chakotay shone it into the mouth of the cavern.

"Look at those teeth," said Paris. "Those things aren't going to attack me, are they? They look hungry."

"Not if you leave them alone," said Chakotay. "You're invading their home. Be on your best behavior and don't annoy them like you've been annoying us with your complaining."

"Right."

"Are you certain this is the correct entrance, Commander?" asked Tuvok. "Seven's final analysis of the map data revealed several underwater entrances in close proximity."

"My tricorder is showing a faint beacon signal. This is it. Hand me that extra reel on your belt."

Tuvok gave Chakotay a reel containing line to be used to lay down a guideline for them to follow on the way out if necessary. Chakotay attached it securely to the cliff wall next to the entrance and prepared to take point to lead the away team though the cave passages.

"Tuvok, I want you in last place to keep an eye on Seven and Tom in case either of them gets into trouble once we're inside. You're also responsible for marking our trail with homing signal markers so we can find our way out again. I'll lay down the guideline as a failsafe in case the rock's EM field affects the markers. Seven, run your tricorder for the duration of the trip through the cave system. I want a complete record for the ship's database in case we find ourselves in similar circumstances when we have to retrieve the rest of the map for the other Portals."

"Understood."

"What do you want me to do, Chakotay?" asked Paris.

"Stay out of trouble. Think you can handle that?"

"No problemo."

Chakotay was momentarily startled when Seven's voice broke into his mind over the interlink transmitter. _"You have been unnecessarily harsh with Lieutenant Paris since this mission began." _

_"His nerves could jeopardize our safety,"_ said Chakotay over the link_. "If I stay on his hide, he has something else to think about rather than how much he doesn't want to be here. And by the way, speaking of things people don't want, what the hell are you doing communicating over the interlink node. Is this an emergency?"_

_"No, but I did not wish it to appear that I was challenging your authority."_

_"And I appreciate that, Seven, but I need you to follow the Captain's original order and not distract me with extraneous conversation inside my head. We're in a very hazardous environment, and I need my full concentration to keep us all safe. Use the comm system in your envirosuit if you need to speak to me."_

_"As you wish." _

With that, Seven withdrew from the interlink connection and began to configure her tricorder for continuous scanning. Chakotay heaved a mental sigh of relief, and turned his attention to surveying the cavern entrance for a direction in which to proceed. He noted an additional three tunnels within that led deeper into the system, but a wide passage directly ahead of him offered the most promising route to the quadlet when he compared its readings to the other three.

"In here," he said, indicating the direction. "Stay close together, single file, and stick to what we practiced in the simulation unless I tell you otherwise." He received a chorus of "ayes," and led the team into the passageway he had chosen.

The away team followed the subspace beacon signal through various large tunnels and caves full of stalactites and stalagmites until they found their progress blocked by a solid wall with a long, narrow opening situated under an overhang. Chakotay shone his Sims beacon inside the slit and saw that the cave system continued further. He checked his tricorder for the subspace beacon signal, and found that it became stronger when he held the tricorder inside the opening.

"This way. It's just big enough for us to squeeze past," Chakotay said.

Paris blanched when he saw the size of the space he was expected to get himself through, and sincerely hoped that there was more room inside, and that the region was not seismically active.

The area was considerably larger once the away team was finally through the squeeze, but as they continued to follow the beacon signal, the passage began to narrow until there was only about twenty-five centimeters of space on either side of the team members.

Tom Paris began to feel the sense of growing panic that tight spaces usually produced in him. "Chakotay, how much longer? I can't take too much more of this."

"I'm reading more room not too far up ahead, Tom. Try to hang on until then," said Chakotay.

The passageway gradually sloped upward and widened until the team surfaced into a large air pocket. They emerged from the water and climbed up onto a solid rock shelf. Paris was so elated to finally be out of the water that he decided on impulse to do something about his galloping claustrophobia -- he began to remove his envirosuit's helmet.

"Belay that, Lieutenant," said Tuvok as he scanned the atmosphere in the air pocket.

"What part of 'stick to what we practiced in the simulation unless I tell you otherwise' didn't you understand?" asked Chakotay. Did I allow you to remove your helmet yesterday?"

"What's the problem, Chakotay?" asked Paris. "This planet is Class-M. The oxygen-nitrogen atmospheric ratio was fine last time I looked."

Instead of responding to him directly, Chakotay turned to Tuvok and asked, "Is it breathable?"

"Only if your lungs are designed to process CO2 instead of oxygen."

Paris gulped and quickly began to reseal his helmet.

"Standard diving practice says not to remove your air source when you surface into an air pocket in an underwater cave, Paris," said Chakotay. "They're often filled with CO2. By the time your lungs start to burn, it's too late. Remember that for next time."

"Who says there's going to be a next time?"

"The Captain might. Now double check the seal on your helmet and let's go."

Chakotay led the team through an opening he had spotted in the limestone rockface. After a short walk down a low tunnel, they found themselves in a large room which appeared to be a dead end, with no obvious route that led further. The cave was filled with stalactites and stalagmites.

"The quadlet's nearby," said Chakotay. "My beacon locator snapped on the minute I stepped in here, and my tricorder confirms it. There has to be an entrance to another room somewhere. Spread out and start scanning for an opening. And Paris -- hands off the speleothems."

"Excuse me?"

"No souvenirs for B'Elanna. It looks like this cave is still forming, and I'd like us to leave it without damaging anything that's already taken hundreds of thousands of years to grow."

"Oh, right. Don't want to wreck it for the tourists."

"Paris..."

Seven of Nine broke into the bickering between the two officers. "Lieutenant Paris," she said. "If you see a geological formation that you wish to have as a 'souvenir,' call me to your position and I will take a holoimage so you may replicate it once we have returned to Voyager." They both looked over at Chakotay for his approval.

"Works for me, as long as it doesn't take up too much time," said Chakotay. "Now, let's get started." The away team dispersed among the stalagmites on the floor of cave and began to search for an entrance to any tunnels that might take them further into the system.

After several minutes, Seven called out, "Commander, over here." Chakotay approached the area where she was scanning. Stalactites and stalagmites had grown together over the eons into a solid wall of thick columns. Water had continued to seep down the columns and onto the floor, depositing its dissolved calcite which had hardened into a graceful flowstone river. Chakotay saw where Seven was indicating a narrow slot between two columns near the end of the wall.

"My readings indicate a large open area behind this wall, Commander," said Seven. "This rift is sufficient for us to enter."

"I think you've found the quadlet, Seven. The vibrations from my beacon locator have intensified." Chakotay cleared away some debris and squeezed partway through the opening to scan into the darkness. He watched as the enhanced tricorder's readout for the beacon frequency jumped to the top of the scale and stayed there. Easing himself back out of the entrance, he said, "Chakotay to Tuvok and Paris. Converge on my position. Seven has located an opening into another cave."

"Acknowledged," said Tuvok.

"On my way," said Paris.

They joined Chakotay and Seven at the wall of columns a few minutes later.

"My readings show this room to be easily a dozen times the size of the one we're in," said Chakotay. "My Sims beacon barely penetrated it, so break out the palm beacons. They should give us enough light."

Chakotay and Seven already had theirs in hand. Once the other two were ready, Chakotay squeezed entirely through the narrow slot and stopped to shine his palm beacon around him.

"My God," he said.

"Commander?" asked Seven.

"See for yourself," said Chakotay, as he stepped aside to allow the rest of the away team to enter the space.

Seven, Paris, and Tuvok squeezed through the narrow slot and stood next to Chakotay. The chamber was full of abundant formations at every turn. Crystals glistened on heavily encrusted surfaces wherever they shone their beacons.

"Uh, Seven...," began Paris.

"Yes, Lieutenant."

"I've found something I want as a souvenir. This cave... all of it. If you can record the whole thing, I'll make a holoprogram for the crew. The Captain would love it."

"There is insufficient memory in the holoimager to scan the entire chamber, Mr. Paris. You must choose the areas to reproduce that are most important to you," Seven replied.

"A moment, Seven," said Tuvok. He reached into his equipment pack, withdrew a memory module, cable, and holoimager mount and handed them to her. "This should provide additional resources for you to perform a complete scan. The Captain especially will appreciate the natural beauty, since she could not accompany us."

"Why, Tuvok," said Paris. "You old softie."

Chakotay saw the Vulcan stiffen and said, "No need to insult the man, Paris. Tuvok?"

"I anticipated the possibility that this mission might require in-depth scans beyond the memory capabilities of our instruments."

"Good thinking," said Chakotay. "We need a rest period anyway, so that should give Seven enough time to do a thorough scan, unless she needs a break too." He turned to her and asked, "Seven?"

"I do not require rest at this time, Commander. I will proceed."

Chakotay said, "All right. Scan the entire cave. This is the most geologically diverse one I've ever come across."

Seven nodded her assent. She had already connected the holoimager to the memory module as they were speaking. She mounted the imager on her palm beacon and positioned the module in her equipment pack in such a way as to leave her hands free to use the imager/beacon combination. Seven walked to the approximate center of the cave and began to turn slowly in a circle while she scanned it top to bottom.

"We can survey with our eyes and tricorders while we rest, people, and then decide where to begin searching for the last quadlet once Seven is finished scanning."

They sat on the floor of the cave to relax for a few minutes after their arduous trip through the underwater portion of the system. Gradually, the away team's eyes adjusted to the light level their palm beacons were generating in the space and they were able to make out more of their surroundings.

Chakotay let his glance slowly wander over the helicites encrusting the cave's upper walls and ceiling. Their twisted, root-like branches curled in all directions, with some of the speloethems large enough to resemble deer antlers. A nearby patch of soda straw stalctities on the ceiling next caught his eye, followed by some unusual boxwork formations. He spent a few minutes studying them and mentally comparing their configuration to similar formations he had seen in several caves in the Black Hills on Earth. Chakotay was glad that Tom Paris had asked for the scan. He was looking forward to making a closer study of this particular cave once Paris had created the holoprogram for the crew.

Tom Paris, meanwhile, had noticed several dark open areas among the glittering crystalline forms as he shone his palm beacon around the cave, and he got up to investigate.

"Don't leave the room, Paris," said Chakotay.

"I'm just going to check out these tunnels. Maybe there's another way out of here so we don't have to swim back."

"Belay that, Lieutenant," said Tuvok. "Even if you were successful in locating a usable exit to the surface of the planet, it would undoubtedly place us within the dispersion field and prevent transport. We would need to hike an unknown distance to the ocean and then swim out beyond the field before Mr. Kim could beam us aboard the _Delta Flyer_. That would be an ineffective use of our time and energy, considering that the Magol are approximately half a day behind Voyager."

"Who said anything about having to swim?" asked Paris. "We have these babies," he said as he patted the dive scooter on his belt.

"Back here now, Paris," said Chakotay. "If we have to come looking for you because you've gotten yourself lost, it's going to use up our air supply. If there's no surface exit to show for our trouble, you'll have put us in a hell of a bind. There might not be enough air reserve for the return trip through the system." He chuckled and said, "Face it, Tom. You're going to be swimming out of here, along with the rest of us."

"Yes, _sir_," said Paris, in a tone that left no doubt about his displeasure at the thought of swimming again through the narrow passages that had earlier triggered his claustrophobia. He sighed and walked back to rejoin Chakotay, Tuvok, and Seven, who had completed her full scan of the cave by this time and had rejoined the rest of the team.

"Seven, initiate a deep-level full spectral scan in conjunction with the holoimager when the skywall appears, and continue to record as we recover the final quadlet," said Tuvok. "There may be useful information in the skywall or the fusion process itself that is not apparent from our tricorder readings alone."

"Agreed. I will comply."

Chakotay stood and said to the team, "Rest for a few minutes more. I'm going to scout around to see if I can get a sense of where to begin searching." He began to circle the cave, paying close attention to the strength of the vibrations he was feeling against his chest. They progressively intensified as he passed a small tunnel and approached an area that was thick with large stalactites and stalagmites.

He stopped in front of a breathtaking drapery wall. Ferric deposits in the cave's bedrock had stained the formations a deep rust color. Layer upon layer of stalactites cascaded down the entire height of the wall, giving the appearance of a frozen waterfall of stone icicles. Chakotay stood there briefly to drink in the beauty, and then took several steps closer to the formation. He felt his beacon locator device deactivate itself and watched in amazement as the drapery wall shimmered for a moment and he found himself face-to-face with the skywall. He turned to summon the others and saw that the cave had entirely disappeared, and that they were surrounded on all sides by stars that rose up to a great height.

Tuvok had gotten to his feet when the skywall appeared, and took up a position back to back with Seven. The pair slowly turned in tandem -- Tuvok holding the incomplete map and searching the stars for the possible location of the remaining quadlet, Seven scanning the entire skywall from top to bottom, section by section as she turned.

When they had a completed 360˚ circle, Tuvok said, "Commander, remain where you are. I believe the quadlet we are seeking is at your location." Tuvok and Seven crossed the cave to join Chakotay and Tom Paris, who by this time had walked over to admire the drapery wall.

"Verify this for me, Commander," said Tuvok. He and Chakotay backed away a couple of meters from the skywall. Tuvok indicated the portion of the incomplete Second Portal map containing the emerged stellar patterns that had brought them to this uninhabited planet, and then pointed up at the skywall roughly 2.7 meters above their heads.

"By George, I think he's got it," said Paris, as he came over and looked at the map over their shoulders. "Hey, Tuvok – let me give you a boost up." With that, the three of them walked over and stood directly under the section of skywall Tuvok had indicated. Paris laced his fingers together to form a footrest for the Vulcan to step into. Tuvok handed the map to Chakotay, stepped into the stirrup formed by Paris's hands, and used the helmsman's shoulders to leverage himself upward. Chakotay handed the map up to Tuvok and then stepped back a short distance to watch the process.

Seven positioned herself to the right of Paris and Tuvok and monitored the deep scan as Tuvok held the incomplete Second Portal map to the portion of the skywall he believed held the remaining piece of the map. There was a loud pop, and the final quadlet slid off the skywall onto the portion of the map Tuvok held and began to fuse itself into the other three to complete the Second Portal map.

A sudden scuttling movement caught Seven's eye, and she glanced down to see several blind cave beetles run past her as though they had been startled. She turned her attention back to her scan and saw anomalous readings had appeared that indicated spatial fluctuations with a modulating phase variance. Seven determined the frequency and location of the variance, and then casually turned her back to it. She carefully set her holoimager/palm beacon down and positioned it in such a way that it would continue to scan the map fusion process as she reached into the waterproof pack on her belt and made an adjustment to the type-1 hand phaser she had stowed in there.

_"COMMANDER, BEHIND YOU!! TAKE COVER!"_

Seven turned and fired. Her exclamation slammed across the interlink connection into Chakotay's mind with such force that it spun him around in time to see an attack party appear as the wide dispersion beam from Seven's hand phaser decloaked them. There were several Magol and members of two species which Chakotay had never seen before, but he didn't stop to count the exact number as he dove for one of the large stalagmites and rolled behind it. He dug in his pack for his hand phaser to defend himself.

Despite Seven's warning, Gunlag and his allies' attack party had taken the away team by surprise. They had entered the cave proper from the nearby tunnel Chakotay had passed as he came to the drapery wall. Gunlag had managed to secrete himself behind a large stalagmite near Tuvok and deactivate his cloak before Seven detected his group. He waited for the rest of the attack party to distract _Voyager's_ away team and give him a clear path to his objective.

Gunlag's weapon blast shot out and caught Tuvok full in the chest, toppling him backward to a hard landing on the cave floor some small distance away. Tuvok saw Paris start toward him and called out, "Mr. Paris, defend yourself." Gunlag rushed over and snatched the still-fusing Second Portal map from the hands of the semi-conscious Vulcan. As the map left Tuvok's hands, the skywall abruptly vanished. Gunlag tucked the map inside his shirt and reactivated his cloak.

By this time, Paris had dug his weapon out of his pack and had joined Chakotay in exchanging fire with the rest of the attack party. Seven had switched her phaser back to weapon status and continued to fire as she edged her way back to where Tuvok lay unmoving next to the drapery wall. Before she could reach him, one of the Tarkada attackers fired at the stalactites directly above Tuvok, causing a section of the wall to collapse onto him. Seven sprinted the last several meters and threw herself over Tuvok to protect him with her Borg shielding as the attackers got off several more shots at the drapery wall of stalactites to bring more of it down.

The attackers ran for the tunnel. Chakotay started toward Tuvok but Seven shouted "GO!" across the interlink connection and waved him off. Chakotay called to Paris over the envirosuit's comm system and they both sprinted after the party, some of whom had begun to recloak as they raced down the tunnel.

Chakotay and Paris had nearly reached the mouth of the tunnel when they saw one of the Magol toss a small blinking sphere in their direction as he vanished in a purple transporter beam. The object rolled past them into the cave, and they both dove for cover. Seven had seen the sphere roll into the chamber and positioned herself alongside Tuvok for her Borg shielding to protect him from the coming detonation.

"Save yourself," Tuvok gasped.

She saw that the collapsed rock from the drapery wall had broken a small hole in the faceplate of Tuvok's helmet, and that exposure to the CO2 in the cave was already causing him breathing difficulty. She placed the palm of her hand over the hole to seal it as she said, "My Borg shielding is sufficient to protect us at this distance from the epicenter of the blast," she said.

None of them expected what came next. Instead of an explosion, their view of the cave shattered into a crazy-quilt misaligned mosaic radiating out from the device. Chakotay and Paris were unable to even read their tricorders to get a fix on the device so they could phaser it.

"Hold your fire, Paris," said Chakotay.

"A distortion generator," said Seven. "Commander, Lieutenant, close your eyes and follow the sound of my voice to this position. Tuvok is in need of immediate medical attention. His envirosuit has been compromised and is leaking atmosphere, which I am attempting to prevent. I cannot leave his side without one of you to assist me while I disable the device."

Chakotay and Paris found their way over to where Tuvok lay. Seven took Chakotay's hand and guided it over hers where it was pressed over the hole in Tuvok's helmet, quickly withdrew her other hand, and pressed Chakotay's to the helmet.

"Your instruments will be useless until I have turned off the device," she said. "I will do so with haste." Seven's optical implant screened out enough of the distortion so that she was able to walk a direct path to the device, and after several fumbling moments of trial and error, she managed to shut it down and stow it in her pack to take back to _Voyager_ for analysis.

The cave resumed its original configuration. Paris opened the medkit on his belt and did a quick preliminary scan of Tuvok.

"It doesn't look good, Chakotay. He's got a concussion, third-degree energy weapon burns to his chest, several broken ribs, one of which has punctured a lung and collapsed it, a broken leg and internal injuries. I can stabilize him, but only for a short time. I don't know how we're going to get him out of here without killing him if we have to swim back through the cave. We can switch him over to the scuba gear, but that weapon blast damaged his envirosuit. I can patch it temporarily with adhesive tape from the medkit, but it won't be a tight enough seal for the suit to keep him dry very long or to compensate entirely for the water pressure."

"First things first. Let's get him on the regulator and stabilized, and then we'll deal with getting out of here," said Chakotay.

"Right."

"Seven, I need you to keep your hand over the hole in Tuvok's helmet while I set everything up." She had rejoined the rest of the team at Tuvok's side, and quickly took over from Chakotay.

"Tuvok, we have to remove your helmet and put you on the regulator," said Chakotay. "It'll take a couple of minutes, so I need you to stay with me."

The Vulcan nodded. Chakotay removed the undamaged mask and regulator from Tuvok's belt. He hooked the regulator into the envirosuit's air supply, positioned his hand on the valve he would need to adjust to shunt the air supply from the envirosuit to the regulator, and handed the face mask to Paris. "Seven, I'm going to need you to remove Tuvok's helmet. Paris, get his face mask secured while I handle giving him the regulator."

"Understood"

"Aye."

"Tuvok," Chakotay said, "I need you to get as deep a breath as you can comfortably take and hold it until I give you the signal," he said. Tuvok nodded again. "On the count of three... one... two... three."

Tuvok took a deep breath, nodded to the rest of the team, and held it despite the pain he was in. Seven quickly removed the helmet, and Paris secured the mask. As they were doing this, Chakotay slowly opened the valve for the air supply and got the regulator into Tuvok's mouth. He then nodded to Tuvok, who let out the breath he was holding and began to slowly take in the nitrox mix through the regulator.

As soon as he had secured the face mask, Paris began to work on stabilizing Tuvok. After several minutes, he said, "I've slowed the internal bleeding, but that's as much as I can do here. I won't be able to stop it until we're back on the _Flyer_."

"Chakotay to Kim."

"Kim here."

"Harry, we've got an emergency. We were attacked..."

"Attacked? How?"

"No time to explain -- Tuvok's badly hurt. We can't take him back through the cave system. You'll have to beam us out though subspace."

"I can get a pattern lock on you using the implanted transponders, but the dispersion field will make the targeting scanners unpredictable when I have to rematerialize you," said Kim. "The only safe way I can do this is in two stages. First, I'll have to beam all of you into the open water beyond the field, wait roughly five minutes for the immersion shielding to cycle through to the window, and then beam you onto the _Flyer_."

"No good, Harry," said Chakotay. "Tuvok's bleeding internally, and his suit's damaged. Tom can patch it, but it can't compensate for the water pressure, so the bleeding's going to get a lot worse if we're in the water that long."

Paris interrupted Chakotay. "Listen, Harry, this is what you do -- take the _Flyer_ up into the atmosphere just above the dispersion field, and drop the shields. Beam us into the ocean, and rematerialize us as close as you can get us to our original coordinates. Keep us there until the targeting scanners clear and then bring us in. It should take just under 30 seconds for them to get back up to specs."

"Commander?" asked Kim.

"It's our only option at the moment, Harry," said Chakotay. "How long will it take you to get the _Flyer_ above the dispersion field?"

"Give me fifteen minutes."

"Then do it, and comm us when you're in position. We'll get Tuvok ready. Chakotay out."

"Chakotay, I'm worried about what even 30 seconds in the ocean is going to do to him," said Paris. There's the pressure, but that water is going to be pretty cold, and he's already in shock. Once Tuvok rematerializes, his envirosuit is going to fill up almost immediately unless he's got the helmet on."

"If you've got an idea, I'd like to hear it," said Chakotay.

"There's just enough room inside the helmet that he can keep the regulator and mask, but what about threading the airhose out through the hole? The break is small enough that I can tape up the gap around the hose pretty tight. One of us will have to keep a hand on the tape because it won't hold for long on its own once we're in the water, but I think we can minimize the seepage."

"All right, Paris, let's do it," said Chakotay. "Tuvok, you've been following the conversation?"

Tuvok nodded, and Chakotay continued. "I'm going to plug an air line from my envirosuit into your regulator so we can disconnect your airhose and set this up. I'll reconnect the hose before I remove the line, so you won't have to hold your breath again when we put the helmet back on."

"Hang on just a little bit longer, Tuvok," said Paris. "Harry'll have you back on the _Flyer_ in no time."

The team coordinated their efforts again and got Tuvok's helmet back on. Tom finished preparing him for transport by taping up the most damaged parts of his envirosuit and around the airhose. The team then carefully helped Tuvok to his feet. Paris and Chakotay supported him on either side, while Seven put one hand over the tape seal on the helmet to keep it secure and gripped Tom Paris's shoulder with the other to keep from drifting off once they materialized in the ocean.

"Tuvok," said Paris, "whatever you do, don't hold your breath once we're in the water, no matter how bad the pain gets. You've only got one functioning lung right now, and I don't want to risk a lung expansion injury to it once we're on the Flyer and the pressure is suddenly off of you." Tuvok nodded.

"Kim to Chakotay. I'm in position. Tom, the biobed's open and ready for you."

"Roger that. We're ready down here."

"On my mark," said Kim. "Three... two... one. Energizing."

The glittering cave disappeared to be replaced by sapphire blue. The away team was in the ocean for what seemed like an eternity when they felt the tingle of the transporter again. The mission module appeared around them, with Kim at the transporter controls. Tuvok sagged as he struggled to remain conscious in spite of the pain he was in. Chakotay and Paris held Tuvok up while Seven removed his helmet and then the mask and regulator.

"Help me get him out of the envirosuit and onto to biobed," said Paris. Kim jumped in to help Seven with the envirosuit, and Tuvok was soon resting comfortably with Paris hovering over him.

"Seven, stay back here and assist me. I'm going to need someone to monitor readings as I work on him."

"Understood."

Chakotay stayed for a few minutes to watch the progress of Tuvok's treatment and then left the mission module to join Kim, who by now was back in the cockpit of the _Flyer_.

"Is he going to make it?" asked Kim.

"Tom's stopped the internal bleeding, so his chances are good," said Chakotay, "but I'll feel better when he's back in sickbay."

"No argument there," said Kim.

"Speaking of sickbay..."

"Way ahead of you," said Kim as he opened a comm channel. "Kim to _Voyager_."

"Janeway. Make it fast -- we're under attack." The sound of the red alert klaxon could be heard in the backgound.

"Captain, Tuvok's been badly hurt. Have the Doc standing by."

"Chakotay here, Captain. What happened?"

"Two alien ships decloaked off our port bow and started firing. Fortunately, they're using conventional weapons. We've been holding our own and are starting to get the upper hand."

"How long ago?"

"About 45 minutes. Why?"

"We were attacked just as we recovered the last piece of the map," said Chakotay. "Gunlag himself led the ambush party. He had a couple of species with him that we've never seen before. Apparently, he's made some new friends."

"That explains the cloaked ships. Apparently, he sent his 'friends' ahead to soften us up," said Janeway. "What's Tuvok's condition?"

"Bad. Part of the cave wall collapsed onto him. Tom's got him stabilized, but the Doctor is going to have his work cut out for him." Chakotay paused for a moment and then said, "Captain, they've got the map."

"That explains the attack. You can fill me in once you're back. We've picked up the Magol on long-range sensors, and they're approaching at high warp. I had Baytart move _Voyager_ off a hundred thousand kilometers as soon as the ships decloaked so the _Flyer_ wouldn't surface into a firefight. We'll bring you aboard when we can. Stay alert, Commander. Janeway out."

_Voyager's_ bridge, 1305 hours:

_Voyager_ shuddered under another direct hit. The First Portal map was still protecting the ship and augmenting its shields to some degree, but not as effectively as it had back in First Portal space. Janeway knew that once Gunlag's ship finally arrived, _Voyager_ would be seriously outgunned, even with assistance from the _Delta Flyer_.

"They'll be on top of us in about another 20 minutes, Captain," said Ayala, filling in for Tuvok at Tactical.

"Captain, Gunlag has phased ion pulse cannons and quantum resonance charges in addition to those metaphasic weapons of his," said Torres. "I took a lot of readings aboard his ship when we were rescuing Chakotay, and I finally got a chance to analyze them after Engineering integrated the alien technology we got on Nardonia into the ship's systems."

"And?"

"I think we can make a few adjustments to our shields to deflect some of the potential damage. I've managed to isolate the Magol shield and weapons frequencies," said Torres. "If we remodulate our shields to an inverse frequency of their metaphasic weapons' resonance signature, that'll cut down on some of the energy getting though. It won't block all of it, but we can at least make it harder for them to blow us out of the sky."

"What about the map shields?"

"Come take a look." Torres brought up her data on the First Portal map shields as Janeway crossed the bridge to join her at the engineering station. "They appear to be calibarated for normal space, so they've got the same kind of weak spots our shields did before we implemented Tom's refit. I might be able to figure out a way to adapt them with the refit or the tech from Nardonia, but that'll take more time than we have."

"All right. Let's start with remodulating our shields, and go from there. You'll have to work with the map shields on the fly," said Janeway.

"In that case, get Harren up here."

"Lieutenant?"

"He's a pig, Captain," said Torres, "but a pig with a brilliant mind. Seven's not here, and he's the only other person qualified enough to help me sort this out."

"Crewman Harren, report to the bridge."

"Acknowledged," responded Harren.

"All right, get started," Janeway said as the deck rolled under her feet from another direct hit.

Back aboard the _Flyer_, 1317 hours:

"_Voyager's_ taking a hell of a pounding," said Chakotay as he read the data on the tactical station monitor.

"I have an idea," said Kim. "Kim to _Voyager_."

"Janeway. We're more than a little busy, Harry."

"Captain, I think I can take some of the heat off you once we're in visual range. No time to explain. Be ready to beam to _Flyer_ aboard."

"Will do, Harry. Janeway out."

"Ensign?" said Chakotay.

"I remembered a little Romulan trick our 'Emergency Command Hologram' mentioned to me. Lucky for us he's become obsessed with studying the tactical database once the Captain decided that an ECH might be a good thing."

"Explain," came a voice from the back of the cockpit.

"Seven – you're back," said Kim. "Good. You can assist us with this."

The _Flyer_ headed for _Voyager_ at high warp as Kim explained the procedure he intended to use. As they came into visual range, Chakotay, Seven, and Kim saw two large ships firing on _Voyager_ from some distance.

"Almost there," said Kim as he maneuvered the _Delta Flyer_ to a position above and behind _Voyager_ and directly opposite the attacking ships. "Now, Commander. Fire." A photon torpedo streaked toward the two alien ships. Kim waited until it started to pass through the middle of the space where the Abuskat and Tarkada ships sat in formation, and then said, "All right, Seven. Now." Seven targeted the torpedo and fired the _Flyer's_ phasers to detonate it. Both ships rocked backward from the blast and then hung motionless.

"They are disabled," said Seven. "Propulsion, sensors, and shields are down, and they are adrift."

"_Voyager_?" asked Chakotay.

"Undamaged by the photonic shockwave," said Seven.

"Remind me to thank the Doc when I see him," said Kim.

"Janeway to the _Delta Flyer. _Nice shooting, Harry."

"Seven and Chakotay get the credit for that," said Kim, "but thanks."

"With those ships out of commission, we can drop the shields long enough for you to dock. Come on home. The shuttlebay door's open."

"On our way. Kim out."

The _Delta Flyer_ landed in shuttlebay two without further incident. Kim beamed Tuvok and Paris directly to Sickbay and then joined Chakotay and Seven as they headed for duty stations.

Chakotay, Kim, and Seven were still on the turbolift when they felt the ship rock from weapons fire. The car arrived at the Bridge, and the three stepped out in time to see Gunlag's _Herat_ unleash another volley at _Voyager_. They grabbed for any fixed object within reach to keep from being knocked down when the deck rolled from the blast.

"Photon torpedos, full spread," ordered Janeway. "Target any weak spot you can find and fire."

"Direct hit," said Ayala. "Minimal damage."

"Mike, keep rotating our shield harmonics, and randomize it," shouted Torres. It's going to take Harren and me a few more minutes before we have anything useable."

"Baytart, evasive maneuvers, pattern Omega-Delta 4," called out Janeway.

The _Herat_ and _Voyager_ continued to exchange fire. Gradually, Torres's and Harren's modifications to the shields began to have some effect, with less of the Magol's weapons fire getting through.

The turbolift door opened and Tom Paris stepped out onto the bridge. Janeway's head snapped around at the sound of the lift, and she barked, "Report."

"Tuvok's out of danger. Permission to resume my station."

"Granted."

Paris took the helm from Baytart and called out, "Hang on, everybody," as he immediately took the ship into a series of complex evasive maneuvers that carried them out of the path of oncoming weapons fire. With Paris at the helm, Voyager suddenly became a much harder target to hit, with less of the Magol barrage finding its mark.

"Status report, Mr. Kim," said Janeway.

"Hull breaches, one major, decks 9 through 14, two smaller breaches, emergency forcefields in place. Numerous microfractures. Internal systems are strained, but holding. Captain, we can't take too much more of this before we lose something critical."

"Agreed. Tom, get us out of here."

Gunlag continued to pursue. Since Torres was no longer tied up with shield modifications, she ran a deep scan of the Magol vessel's shields as _Voyager_ retreated.

"Captain, I think we can take them out long enough to get away," said Torres. "They're having the same kind of problem with their shields as we first did in alternate space, but nowhere near as bad. It looks like they tried to do something about it, but I don't know if they didn't know what they were doing, or just figured they'd let their allies do most of the fighting for them. Maybe they thought they could outgun us anyway."

"What are you saying, B'Elanna?" asked Janeway.

"It was a sloppy adjustment if that's what they did. Our last photon barrage created a few weak spots in their metaphasic shielding. If we can reconfigure the phasers to open a couple of rifts, we can target them with a covariant pulse through our deflector and at least partially disable their weapons and shields."

"Got that Harry and Mike?"

"Aye."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Then do it," said Janeway.

Several phaser strikes opened the rifts Kim needed to send the covariant pulse.

"Thank you, Kahless," said Torres after sensors detected the damage to the Magol metaphasic shields and weapons. "There's a weak spot near their central array. Harry, reconfigure the deflector to emit a nadion beam and direct it to the coordinates I'm sending you. That should take out the shields over the relay. Mike, I'm giving you the same coordinates. A couple of photons should do it."

Kim and Ayala looked to Janeway for orders, and she nodded. Kim sent the nadion pulse through the deflector as Torres monitored the metaphasic shields. "Now, Mike," she said as she saw them collapse. Ayala fired two photon torpedos at the _Herat_, and Torres looked up at the viewscreen in time to see the strike and resulting explosion. She jumped to her feet and yelled, "Gotcha!" as she saw the plume that indicated a plasma leak. She didn't need to consult her sensor readings to know that they had damaged the central relay and enough conduits and supporting technology to cripple the _Herat_. Gunlag's ship stopped firing and began to drift.

The attack is over, 1553 hours:

"Nice work, people," said Janeway. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, B'Elanna."

Torres realized that she had run several feet toward the viewscreen in her excitement. She looked embarrassed as she said, "Sorry, Captain."

"No need to apologize. You saved our tail," said Janeway. "That goes for all of you."

"Captain, I think we're safe for the moment," said Ayala. "I've dispatched repair crews to take care of the hull damage."

Janeway crossed the bridge to the engineering station. "B'Elanna, how long until the ship's systems are back up to specs?"

"You're not going to like it." When Janeway didn't say a word, Torres said, "Thirty hours, minimum."

"You're right. I don't like like it. The Magol won't be bothering us for a while, but those other two are going to be on us as soon as they can reinitialize their shields and propulsion and get their weapons back up."

"I figure the first of the allies will be operational in another five hours or so, and the other not too long after," said Torres. "The Magol will need at least another four hours beyond that because their central relay controls pretty much everything. I'll barely make a dent in nine hours, Captain -- 85 of the ship's systems are running on backups. _Voyager_ can't withstand another attack like the one we've just been through unless we're entirely back on primary systems."

_Voyager _sets course for a nebula, 1600 hours:

"Captain," said Paris. "We passed a small Class 9 nebula a couple of light minutes before we reached the planet. It'd give us a chance to hide safely while we make repairs, and we'd still be in sensor range of the Second Portal map."

"Mr. Paris, set a course," said Janeway. "That looks like our only option at the moment."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Voyager had just gotten underway when Harry Kim spoke up. "Captain, belay that order."

"Ensign?"

"I'm running a deep spectral scan of the nebula right now, and it's showing antimatter. I remembered some unusual readings I got as we flew past it earlier, but we were all so focused on our mission to retrieve the map that I didn't bring it up. It reads as a Class 9 on the surface, but there's some kind of barrier not too far inside the edge. I reconfigured the sensors to scan past that, and got clear antimatter readings. It's some kind of anti-matter nebula."

"How is that possible?" asked Janeway. "It's unheard of." She crossed the Bridge and came up next to Kim to examine his readings. "Well, I'll be damned. You're right-- there's a definite antimatter core. Ordinarily, I'd love to stick around and thoroughly examine something that's going to make scientific history, but we don't have that luxury."

"Captain, I would theorize that it's a subspace herniation of some kind," said Mortimer Harren, who had remained on the bridge at Torres's request, in case his expertise was needed. "There must be an antimatter layer to subspace that was unknown to us until now."

"Whatever it is, we're stuck here for the moment," said Janeway. Mr. Ayala, continue to monitor the progress of repairs to those three ships while I figure out our options. Tom, take us out of range and go to all stop."

"All stop, aye," responded Paris as he took up a station out of weapons range from the Magol and their allies.

"Captain," said Torres, "I think I can give you an option that will allow you to take _Voyager_ into the nebula."

"Hey, Maquis," said Kim. "Weren't you listening? Antimatter?"

"Hear me out, Starfleet."

"Go ahead, B'Elanna," said Janeway. "I'm listening."

"I'm with Harren on this one – I think it's some kind of protrusion from subspace. And the only way antimatter can exist in this or normal space is if it's encapsulated somehow – the way the antimatter in our warp core has a containment field."

"I think I see where you're going with this, B'Elanna," said Janeway.

"Right. If we reconfigure our shield bubble to act as a containment field around the ship and tune the shield harmonics to match those of the surface of the nebula's core, we could go in and sit right in the middle of all that antimatter without rupturing the containment of the bubble's skin. Think of it as a variation of a static warp shell."

"What's the condition of the shields?" asked Janeway. "Is it even feasible?"

"There's some damage to a few of the emitters that will take a small crew maybe an hour to repair, but lucky for us, none of the weapons fire damaged anything critical for maintaining the shields, otherwise I wouldn't have brought it up."

"B'Elanna, Seven, the project is yours," said Janeway. "This looks like our best hope of getting our primary systems online so we can go after Gunlag to get the map back. Care to join them, Mr. Harren?"

"With pleasure, ma'am."

"Captain, I suggest we seal the hull breaches before we enter the nebula," said Torres. "That'll get done long before the Magol and their friends can finish repairs, and we could really use the energy that maintaining the emergency forcefields is eating up. We'll have to divert all warp power into maintaining the containment bubble if we're going to do this, along with nearly everything else we have left, and we'll have to monitor the bubble constantly. We'd be going into the nebula on thrusters only, Captain," said Torres. "I'll admit it's a very risky procedure..."

"But it's better than sitting here hoping we can get enough of our systems repairs done in time to stand a chance of surviving another attack," said Janeway.

"Captain, there's another advantage here that B'Elanna hasn't mentioned," said Chakotay. "The nebula's electromagnetic interference won't give us clear readings of anything outside once we've entered, but on the other hand, the Magol won't be able to detect us either, even with a tetryon scan."

"Well, as long as that's the case and we're tossing around crazy ideas, how about faking a warp core breach to get them completely off our tail?" suggested Tom.

"Right," said Kim. "We could broadcast false readings to make it look like our sensors sustained massive damage and failed. One or more of those ships would probably have enough of their sensors back by the time we enter the nebula to read both the antimatter inside and our apparent destruction. It would give us the element of surprise when we go after them to get the map back."

"Good thinking, Harry," responded Paris. "B'Elanna? What say you?"

"We could release an undetonated tricobalt device surrounded by its own containment shield bubble on a timer once we're completely inside the antimatter core of the nebula. When it reachs a safe enough distance away from _Voyager_, the timer would drop the containment shields and expose the device to the antimatter."

"And if we broadcast a large enough transient subspace signal simultaneously with the detonation," said Kim, "it would be interpreted as a core breach."

"That would also obscure _Voyager_ from their sensors, even if they fire a low intensity particle beam into the nebula and scan for the ship," finished Torres. "Captain, this could work."

"What about the integrity of the containment bubble when the shockwave hits?" asked Janeway.

"Captain," said Seven, "if I were to incorporate the same kind of Borg algorithms I used in creating the harmonic resonance chamber to contain particle 010, this project could succeed."

Mortimer Harren looked as though he was about to ask a question. "Need to know, Mr. Harren," said Janeway, grateful that Seven had shown discretion in referring to the Omega particle in front of non-senior staff.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Mr. Ayala, status report."

"Minor breaches and a majority of the micro fractures have been repaired. Sealing of the major breach is well underway."

"B'Elanna, how long would it take to set this up?"

"I'd estimate an hour and a half. The repair crews should be finished with the hull by then."

"Captain, I will forego regenerating to monitor the containment bubble until _Voyager_ is out of the nebula," said Seven. "That will free Lt. Torres to supervise repairs so that they are completed more efficiently."

"All right, Seven," said Janeway. "Tom and Chakotay, since we have a little time, I want the Doctor to check both of you over to be sure there are no ill effects from your away mission. Report back to me in my ready room to debrief once you've finished up in Sickbay." Janeway paused a minute to look around the bridge at her crew and then said, "Everyone has their duties, so let's get busy."

_Voyager_ enters the nebula, 1747 hours:

An hour and a half later, everything was in readiness for _Voyager_ to enter the nebula.

"Mr. Ayala, status of repairs to the aliens' sensors?"

"The Magol are nearly at 100, the other two ships' are barely functioning."

"Gunlag's metaphasic shields must have protected his sensors," said Torres. "Good thing for us."

"Status of our modified shields?"

"They are online and at 100," said Seven.

"Looks like it's showtime, Captain," said Tom Paris.

"All right, people. Let's do it. Take us in, Tom, thrusters only."

_Voyager_ moved slowly into the nebula. Paris set a course for the center of the antimatter core. Everyone on the bridge held their collective breaths as the ship approached the containment bubble, but _Voyager_ passed through the barrier without incident.

"We're in position, Captain," said Paris.

"You've double-checked your calculations, B'Elanna?" asked Janeway.

"And triple-checked them. The tricobalt device will be close enough to the edge of the antimatter core that those ships will be able to get a visual on the explosion, but not so close that it will rupture the barrier."

"Seven?"

"Shields are at maximum, Captain. They will hold."

"Harry, give me shipwide." The computer chirped and a channel opened. "Janeway to all hands. We are about to execute a maneuver within the next 30 seconds that will result in a shockwave. Brace yourselves."

"Bombs away, ma'am?" asked Ayala.

"You've been hanging around Mr. Paris too long," said Janeway with a smirk. "Do it."

The bridge crew watched as the tricobalt device streaked away from _Voyager_ and disappeared into the nebular gases. They saw the gases brighten in the far distance, followed several seconds later by a shockwave that rocked the ship nearly end over end. Kim broadcast the transient subspace signal.

"Seven?"

"Shields at 100. Containment shield bubble stable."

Tom Paris let out a whoop, to the amusement of everyone, including Janeway. "Don't celebrate yet, Tom," she said with a laugh. "We still have to get the map back and get through the Portal, but I think some congratulations are in order all around. Both were good ideas."

Paris beamed at the compliment.

"Mr. Ayala, route all damage repair progress reports to my ready room. Chakotay, you're with me," said Janeway.

"If you need any more crazy ideas let me know," said Paris.

"I might, Tom. I don't know what it's going to take to get us through the Second Portal, but I'll be damned if we're going to remain stranded in a region of space that breeds things like antimatter hernias. You have the Bridge."

Day 13

Somewhat later, on Gunlag's ship, 0030:

"How is their misfortune my fault?" wailed Imot as Gunlag ramped up the setting on the punishment device he held against Imot's back. "Our sensors barely detected the antimatter inside the nebula. You saw the readings yourself. Their instruments failed."

"You should have forseen something like this and cooked up one of your schemes so I could have seized her ship and taken my revenge on Janeway," snarled Gunlag, as he activated the device again.

Imot screamed in pain and yelled, "Didn't one of my schemes bring you the map? You took it from them with your own hands."

"Yes, Expendable, and then they disabled us. Your plan was hardly a complete success."

"No, but fate repaid them for what they did to the _Herat. _Now you have the map and a clear pathway to the wormhole without their interference."

"Yes, fate repaid them" said Gunlag. "Janeway's arrogance in entering a nebula without her sensors has been her undoing. She will never curse me again."

Imot did not, however, share his suspicion that _Voyager_ was still hiding in the nebula. He had been the first to observe the readings from the "warp core explosion," and his sensors showed a much lower yield of debris than would be expected for a ship of that size. Imot noted several irregular readings in the aftermath of the explosion that could not be explained away, which led him to believe that Janeway and her ship had outwitted the Magol yet again. He managed to keep that information from the rest of the bridge crew.

Imot knew that if Gunlag found out about this, his days aboard the _Herat_ were numbered, however useful he might make himself. Although Gunlag tomented him on a regular basis, the Magol captain had been especially vicious this time, and for no apparent reason other than to take out his frustration on a convenient target. Imot was determined to get the Magol and their allies through the map portal as quickly as possible, in case his suspicions were correct.

"It isn't as if you need her part of the map, Captain," he said. I have already made a study of the document you brought back and have a course prepared to enter into our navigation system," said Imot.

"Oh, do you now?" Gunlag waved the punishment device at Imot. "And did I give you permission to study the map?"

Imot cringed in spite of himself. "No one else stepped forward to discern a course. I thought you would want to leave as soon as repairs were complete. Your allies are standing by, awaiting your instructions."

"What of this beacon frequency your friend the spy talked about?" asked Gunlag.

"I have already isolated it on long-range sensors. Success is close at hand."

"For your sake, it had better be. Notify our allies that we are departing, and get underway." After relaying the message to the Abuskat and Tarkada, Imot entered the course he had calculated into the navigation system, and the _Herat_ started for the Second Portal.


	7. Act 5

DISCLAIMER: See prologue.

**Act 5**

Day 13:

The Ready room, 0847 hours:

Kathryn Janeway leaned back against the ready room couch, coffee mug in hand. She angled herself slightly to be able to watch the nebular gases swirling outside the viewport as she took a few minutes break from studying the data on the laptop monitor, which was on the low table in front of the couch along with several padds. She was startled out of her reverie by the door chime.

"Come."

Chakotay entered. Janeway turned away from the viewport with a concerned expression. She had not expected to see him before this morning's briefing.

"Chakotay?"

"Good news, Kathryn," he said. "I've just come from sickbay. Rather than make you listen to the Doctor's first-person account of his extraordinary medical heroics this early in the day, I told him I'd give you the good news myself. Tuvok's been released and is resting in his quarters."

"How's he doing?"

"The Doctor feels he's recovered enough to attend this morning's briefing, although he'll be wearing a cortical monitor for a day or two. After we're done, he's under orders to return to his quarters and spend some time in a healing meditation. If he can pass a physical tomorrow, he could be back for light duty."

Janeway rewarded him with a big smile. "I thought that might go down well with your morning coffee," Chakotay said. Janeway's smile grew into a grin. "Tom and I had only minor injuries – bruises mostly, from when we dove behind the stalagmites in the cave – which, by the way, Tom's been calling 'The Crystal Palace'."

"One of Tom's twentieth century references?"

"I think it's 19th, actually. He asked Seven to take a deep spectral scan of the entire cave where we found the quadlet, and is planning to make a holoprogram for the crew. I think you'll be amazed when you see it. That particular room was spectacular."

"I'll look forward to it, then," Janeway said as she set her mug down on the low table and picked up a padd. "As long as you're here, have a seat."

"So what have you come up with?"

"It keeps coming back to the map, Chakotay. Eyfrod told Neelix that a portal would be revealed every time all four quadlets of a map portion merged. I'm betting that Gunlag and his merry band are already on their way to the Second Portal, and I don't think they'll have much trouble finding it. Whatever else Gunlag is, he's not stupid. From what you and Tom told me yesterday, their allies have technology more advanced than ours. How else could they have beamed into the exact cave you were in when we couldn't?"

"True." Chakotay paused for a moment to choose his words carefully, and then plunged ahead. "Kathryn, have you considered the possibility of a partnership with the Magol so we can get through the Second Portal?"

"The thought crossed my mind, Chakotay, but I can't think of anything we could offer that might interest them."

"Eyfrod told us that we needed all the map pieces accumulated along the journey thus far to pass safely through each portal. Gunlag may have the Second Portal map, but he doesn't have safe passage, and I don't think he knows that. We might be able to make some kind of arrangement with him to share information without giving him direct access to our portion of the map, assuming we could persuade him to listen first and shoot later."

"I tried telling him that while you were unconscious on his bridge after they beat you," said Janeway, "but I don't think he took me seriously. If he did, he's just arrogant enough to think he can get through the Portal on his own."

"Maybe his allies would be more amenable to reason, then. You've seen what the Magol are like. This is probably just an alliance of convenience."

"Somehow, I don't think the allies have the map, even after they used their cloaked ships to help steal it from us. Gunlag would want to keep it for himself. The Magol are bullies, Chakotay, and have better weapons."

"Unfortunately, we might have no other way of getting through the Portal if we can't come up with another solution," said Chakotay.

"I'll keep that option in reserve as a last resort, but first I'd like to see what we can come up with on our own," said Janeway. "Let's get to the briefing."

In the briefing room, 0903 hours:

Janeway and Chakotay entered the briefing room in time to hear the end of Kim's thoughts on how to get through the Second Portal without the map section the Magol had stolen.

"...worked for them and the other two ships with them."

Janeway took her seat. "Let's hear it from the top, Harry."

Kim shifted in his seat to face her directly. "I thought we could use the subspace beacon frequency as a starting point for a password in case we need one, like we did at the First Portal."

"That thought crossed my mind too. The beacon frequency has been used consistently this time to lead us to the map quadlets. It seems to be a universal feature of the Second Portal map."

"That's what I thought. We could broadcast the password and then piggyback onto Gunlag's coattails when and his allies try to go through the Portal. That's what they did with us."

"It's a definite possibility, Harry," said Janeway. "Chakotay reminded me that we need all the pieces of the map to date to get safely through a portal and suggested I make a deal with Gunlag, but I'd rather exhaust every other option first."

"Captain, it is unlikely that you could make a viable 'deal' with the Magol," said Tuvok. "Even if you were to succeed in reaching an agreement, there is no guarantee that Gunlag would hold up his end of the bargain, especially once he has access to the First Portal map data. He is not to be trusted."

"You'll get no disagreement from me there, Tuvok."

"Also, consider the fact that there would no doubt be arguments regarding the order in which the ships would go through the Portal. The Magol would most certainly insist on leading, given that they have weapons superiority. I see no advantage for us in trailing behind the caravan. They could attack as we were emerging from the Portal and disable _Voyager_ to the point where they could board and seize the First Portal map."

"I think you're right about our chances of a deal with Gunlag," said Janeway. "My sense of him is that he's so misogynistic that at some point, he would probably make a great show of rejecting the idea of cooperating with a woman so that everyone could get through the Portal. He'd end up being more trouble than he's worth. As far as I'm concerned, contacting Gunlag is our very last resort."

"Agreed."

"Let's investigate Harry's suggestion further," said Janeway to the senior staff. "Apparently, the map will protect several ships at once if they're close enough together. Harry, work out the farthest distance we can be from the last ship and still remain within the map's protection."

"Will do, Captain."

"I'd like to keep this option available, since it may be the only way we can pass through the Second Portal," said Janeway. "We have to face the fact that we may not be able to get the Second Portal map back. This way, we would at least be back in normal space, and with a few more years cut off our journey."

Seven of Nine had spent the entire meeting thus far at the wall console, monitoring the containment bubble. "Captain, I would like to make a suggestion that would ensure _Voyager's_ safety if you must proceed without the Second Portal map."

"Let's hear it, Seven."

"We do not know what may await us at the entrance to the Portal," said Seven. "There may be an energy barrier or creature 'guardian' sensitive to the beacon frequency waiting in the entrance of the Portal to prevent _Voyager_ from entering, or not. We are in alternate space with no further map data available to us about the nature of the Portal's interior. An enhanced structural integrity field may prove to be a very useful precaution."

"Go on," said Janeway.

"I have made a thorough analysis of sensor readings taken from the First Portal's interior. It has similar properties to a transwarp conduit. A Borg cube encounters extreme gravimetric shear forces when it uses such a conduit, so it projects a structural integrity field ahead of itself to compensate," said Seven. "If a command subroutine was to be in place in advance to modify the deflector so that it could project a similar field on very short notice, it would be possible to avoid damage or possible destruction if _Voyager_ were to unexpectedly encounter severe gravimetric shear forces. Based on our transit through the First Portal, I have projected the level of stress to which _Voyager_ may be subjected in this new Portal, and have determined that the ship cannot withstand the interior and remain undamaged if it does not have the Second Portal map shields. Consider also the damage the Magol and their allies may inflict if you try this 'piggyback' option. An enhanced structural integrity field may prove to be a crucial asset."

"That's a valid concern, Seven," said Janeway. "The project is yours. Coordinate your efforts with Harry once he's finished his distance calculations." Seven nodded.

At this point, the Doctor chimed in and said, "If I had access to Seven's projection data, I could prepare a corresponding radiogenic vaccine for gravimetric radiation to have on hand should it prove necessary."

"Excellent. Seven, once you've finished with your and Harry's projects, work with the Doctor to interpret your data for his vaccine."

"I will comply."

"Captain, if I may?" said Tuvok.

"Go ahead, Tuvok."

"While it is logical to have contingency plans, I would give priority to retrieving the Second Portal map. It is undoubtedly key to finding the Third Portal set of quadlets. Even if _Voyager_ were to succeed in passing through this Portal without the map, we would lose the possibility of any more large jumps, and would no doubt be in danger from whichever of these aliens controlled the Second Portal map."

"Recommendations?"

Tuvok continued. "I would strongly advise against sharing any map data with the Magol. It is conceivable that they may find a way to use that information in conjunction with the section of the map they already possess to complete the entire map. I also remind you of Eyfrod's statement that once we obtained all the quadlets, it would enable us to overcome anyone trying to cause us harm. He also alluded to a possible invasion of Earth. Should the Second Portal quadlets remain in other hands, we, and indeed the entire Alpha Quadrant and Earth could be threatened by any power-seeking entity that has control of the map."

"Good points, Tuvok," said Janeway. "Harry, what was the last known condition of our attackers before we entered the nebula?"

"I reviewed the sensor records just before this briefing, and they showed the allied ships were well along in the process of reinitializing their shields and propulsion, and they also had crews working out on the hull to repair the battle damage," said Kim. He continued, "The nadion pulse caused considerable damage to Gunlag's ship. I got readings through one of the rifts showing that several interior sensor nodes exploded when our photon torpedos hit the central processing relay. The relay itself was seriously damaged. We've managed to significantly slow the Magol down, which is why I suggested the piggyback option."

"Meaning?" asked Seven.

Tom Paris stepped in to answer. "I'd say a lot of their arrogance comes from having the biggest guns and best defense on the block, Seven. Now that they know we have something that'll bring 'em to their knees, I'd say they're less likely to attack. That's just simple self-preservation."

"It's still a viable option if we can't get the map back, Seven," said Janeway. "Anyone else have any suggestions? B'Elanna?"

"Well, the First Portal map is still protecting us to some degree, so we have that," said Torres.

"Does that mean that the Second Portal map is protecting those three ships?" asked Neelix.

"I don't think so, Neelix," said Torres. "Harry and I wondered the same thing, so I had Vorik run a detailed analysis comparing the sensor readings we had on them both before and after the map was stolen. They were identical, except for the faint signature of the beacon frequency from deep inside Gunlag's ship."

"So the map is definitely with Gunlag," said Chakotay.

"I'd say so," said Torres. "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that the map's continuing protection is cumulative, which is why we have to have all the fused quadlets from the beginning to get through a specific portal safely, and why the stolen map isn't protecting the Magol. We'd get some protection from the First Portal section of the map if we try to go though this next Portal, but it would be minimal at best."

"What about an away mission to board Gunlag's ship and take back the map?" asked Chakotay.

"I'd say wait until we've entirely disabled the central processing relay," said Torres. "The Magol were still holding you captive when Icheb paid us a little visit. He told us that they can run their ship with only a dozen crewmen in an emergency because the internal sensor technology is so powerful. Basically, they can operate their systems from wherever they have a sensor node. If we can take out the central processing relay, that will bring the internal sensor system down with it. We could search the entire ship without the Magol being able to put up much resistance. The one advantage we _do_ have at this point is that the map-generated shields have kept Magol sensors from fully detecting the disparity between our technology and theirs."

"We can no longer assume this to be the case, Lieutenant," said Tuvok. "Logic would suggest that they now know our capabilities. I submit that Gunlag and his allies knew exactly where to find us when we were in the cave system, quite possibly because they knew about the beacon frequency and had superior scanners unaffected by the magnetic properties of the surrounding rock. They waited under personal cloaks until the exact moment the map was completed, stole it, and then beamed out without difficulty, suggesting that they or their allies have technology that was unaffected by the dispersion field."

"They could have found a surface entrance," said Paris, "and maybe the map transported them back to their ships."

"Possible, and unlikely," replied Tuvok. "My point is that they knew everything about the particulars of our mission, which aroused my suspicion. Add to that the fact that when they attacked _Voyager_, they knew exactly which areas of vulnerability to target. That was evidenced by the significant amount of damage they were able to inflict."

"What are you saying, Tuvok?" asked Kim.

"They had far more information about us than their limited contact would be expected to produce," Tuvok replied. "With this in mind, I took the opportunity after the Doctor discharged me from Sickbay to quickly go over _Voyager's_ internal sensor logs, with a particular focus on the engineering department."

"Vulcans," muttered the EMH.

"Doctor…" Janeway warned. Tuvok nodded to her and continued.

"If you will recall, Ensign, Ms. Torres commed your station to report unusual readings near the warp core."

"That was a sensor ghost," said Kim.

"It was not. I found barely detectable localized spatial fluctuations in several areas of the ship. It was apparent that a spy with a very sophisticated personal cloak had somehow boarded _Voyager_, and had been in the shuttlebay, cargo bay 2 and astrometrics, in addition to engineering. We did not detect him because no one was running a deep level spectral scan as Seven of Nine had been when we were retrieving the map. With Seven's assistance, I was able to reconstruct his itinerary along with a time index, and determined that the spy had stowed away on _Baxial_ during our mission to Nardonia's marketplace."

"That can't be," protested Neelix. "I took every precaution to secure my ship before we left for the marketplace. If someone had tried to force their way into _Baxial_, we would have seen it."

"Calm yourself, Mr. Neelix," said Tuvok. "If I were to have Seven check _Baxial's_ internal sensor logs, they would most certainly show evidence of an unauthorized transport. It would appear that the spy heard enough of our discussions while aboard _Baxial_ and _Voyager_ to learn about the beacon frequency and our plans for the recovery of the final piece of the map."

"So it would appear," said Chakotay.

"Further, the computer shows irrefutable evidence that critical tactical information was downloaded during the time period in which the spy was aboard _Voyager_," said Tuvok. "I also checked the external sensor records for the same timeframe and found very faint subspace distortions, which confirmed that a shuttle with a highly sophisticated multispectral cloak was keeping station nearby.

"Great! That's just great," said Kim. "Paint a bullseye on us, why don't you?"

"Harry, the Magol's external sensors aren't very sophisticated, and wouldn't be particularly effective even if _Voyager_ wasn't protected by the map shields," said Torres. "That's the one glaring weakness in their technology. They've upgraded them from the last time we ran into them, but not really by much."

"Your point, B'Elanna?" asked Kim.

"I'd worry first about their allies getting a fix on us, and then think about ways of setting up a scattering field to deflect their sensor scans," said Torres. "They're much more advanced than the Magol in that area if they could get a spy aboard _Voyager_, read the beacon frequency from orbit, and then transport in and out through a dispersion field to steal the map. Most of the Magol technology is roughly on a level with ours."

"Sounds like a pretty good reason for an alliance to me," said Paris.

"In terms of actual threat to _Voyager_, it's definitely the Magol we have to worry about most," said Torres. "With the metaphasic weapons and shields, they'll continue to have tactical superiority, even with any modifications Harren and I can make to the First Portal map shields."

"We still might still be able to send in an away team," said Kim. "The nadion beam was pretty effective against their shields, and the fact that Gunlag knows their weapons are better than ours could also work to our advantage."

"How so, Ensign?" asked a skeptical Tuvok.

"Quite honestly, I'm a little surprised the Magol metaphasic shields were so patchy, when you consider the level of their technological sophistication," said Kim. "Gunlag must have really been in a hurry to catch up to us if he didn't take the time to properly remodulate something as basic as shields. It's not as if the Magol don't know how."

"And even if they if they didn't, one or the other of their new friends could probably figure it out for them," said Paris. "What do you want to bet that after our 'warp core breach,' they won't even bother to do any more work on them? I'd lay odds that Gunlag thinks he can outshoot anybody in this godforsaken stretch of space now that we're 'gone'."

"Those are several valid points," said Tuvok. "The deep spectral scans Mr. Kim took of the Gunlag's ship before we entered the nebula revealed that the weak areas in the metaphasic shields are roughly equivalent to conventional shielding at _Voyager's_ level. If we are going to re-engage the Magol, however, we must do it swiftly. Even if they have not yet adjusted their shields, there is nothing to prevent them from doing so once we make an attempt to regain the map."

"If we systematically targeted these weak spots," said Torres, "we could wear away their shield grid and do enough damage to the central processing relay to be able to send away teams in. Once they're aboard, they could disable the rest of the nodes and search for the map."

"Harry, I need you to reorder your priorities," said Janeway. "We need a way to quickly target the weak spots so we can get our people in. Check your readings to see if the weak areas are localized to a specific shield vector that we can exploit. After you've finished that, go back to your 'piggyback' idea and Seven's deflector modifications."

"I'm on it, Captain," responded Kim.

"B'Elanna, when are we going to be able to leave the nebula?"

"Just under five hours from now. With Seven monitoring the containment bubble for me and Harren's help in engineering, we'll be done ahead of schedule."

"Good. I'm going to ask you to oversee all of the projects we've discussed and report their progress to me," said Janeway. Torres nodded. "Tom, when we're ready to leave the nebula, I want you to take us out on the opposite side from where we went in, just in case our friends didn't believe our little lightshow and stayed behind."

"Yes, ma'am."

"One more thing, Captain," said Torres. "Harren came up with a few more calculations for integrating the First Portal map shields with our own, but we won't be able to test them until we're out of the nebula."

"Then we'll take it from there in about five hours, Belanna," said Janeway. She glanced briefly at her first officer before continuing. "Chakotay quoted one of his father's aphorisms to me when we were still in normal space. He said that the deciding factor in any battle is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."

The senior staff chuckled at the bit of homespun wisdom. Janeway looked at everyone around the table and said, "You know, our technology allows us to be out here in space with barely a second thought. In this alternate dimension, we're pioneers just as much as Jonathan Archer and his crew were when they entered the Expanse and encountered the Xindi. I commend every one of you and your departments for the ability to come up with remarkable solutions to circumstances none of us could have foreseen. I know your initiative and quick thinking will see us safely through. We'll leave the nebula and embark on the rest of this adventure at 1400 hours. Dismissed."

On the far side of the nebula, 1400 hours:

Five hours later, the _U.S.S. Voyager _emerged from the antimatter nebula to find that Gunlag and his allies had indeed left for the Second Portal. Torres dropped the containment bubble and began testing Harren's hypotheses for retuning the shields.

"I'm detecting three ion trails about 14 hours old," said Harry Kim. "They're very faint."

for the next few hoursy with a mild sedative, and she closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.ching you being tor

"Can you determine a heading?" asked Janeway.

"Transmitting it to the helm," said Kim. "Captain, I'm also getting some long-range sensor readings on the Magol, and it looks like they haven't done anything yet about their shields." said Kim.

"Tom, I think they bought our little 'mishap'," said Janeway.

"Looks like it," said Paris, "but it's pretty damn cocky for Gunlag to assume we were destroyed without sticking around to verify it."

"That's about what I'd expect from him," said Janeway. "Judging by his reaction to me when I was trying to negotiate Chakotay's release, he has a problem with women in authority over men. It's not such a far leap for him to assume that I was stupid enough to enter a nebula without checking my sensors first, or maybe too reckless to care about anything except eluding him. His mistake. Tom, set a pursuit course warp 9."

Paris turned in his seat to face Janeway and said, "Captain, we don't know the sensor range of those other two ships. There's a zone of subspace sensor disruption warp flight causes that I'd like to take _Voyager_ through. It'd be a bumpy ride, but it should keep them from detecting us until we're fairly close. We'll have a better chance of taking them by surprise."

"Do it," said Janeway.

Paris made several adjustments to his console and said, "Course laid in."

"Engage."

_Voyager_ jumped to warp. Janeway turned to Kim and said, "Begin long-range scanning for residual neutrino emissions, and keep an eye out for the beacon frequency."

"Captain, permission to begin drilling away teams for our mission to recover the map?" asked Tuvok.

"Granted," said Janeway. Tuvok left the bridge.

Chakotay leaned over the console and spoke quietly to Janeway. "Kathryn, we have about ten hours before we catch up to Gunlag. Things are going to be pretty routine until then, so why don't you get some rest in your quarters. I'll keep an eye on things for you."

Janeway chuckled and said, "I think I'll just take you up on that, Chakotay. I need to be sharp for what's coming up, and right now, I'm feeling a little burnt."

"Antimatter nebulas will do that to you, or so I've been told," said Chakotay.

Janeway just rolled her eyes and smirked in reply. She stood and said, "Commander, you have the bridge. I'll be in my quarters."

Day 13

Aboard the Magol ship, 2138 hours:

"Captain, the Abuskat are hailing us," said Flamm.

"Put them through."

Captain Helar of the Abuskat appeared on the viewscreen. "Gunlag, my sensors are showing the alien vessel pursuing us. It would seem that they were not destroyed in the nebula after all."

"That ship of vermin has more lives than a Taldarik beast," growled Gunlag. "Allow me to confer with my officers, Helar, and then we will contact Tarik to discuss how we will put _Voyager_ of its misery once and for all."

Imot tensed as he sat at the helm controls of the _Herat_, absolutely certain of what was coming his way. Gunlag nodded to Flamm, who prepared himself to slide into Imot's place and take control of the ship's navigation. Imot felt the stabbing jolt of pain from Gunlag's punishment device before the Magol captain had entirely pulled him from his seat.

"You worthless piece of garbage," screamed Gunlag as he alternated between beating Imot and torturing him with the punishment device. "You told me Janeway and her ship had been destroyed. Are you blind as well as stupid? Or did you just lie to me to cover your own incompetence?" Gunlag raised the setting on the punishment device and jolted the unfortunate Expendable again.

Imot squealed in pain and cried, "The nebula clouded the sensors." He drew a shuddering breath and said, "You saw the readings yourself and agreed with me that they were destroyed. You saw the explosion." A spark of a thought flashed in Imot's pain-dulled brain. "Ask your allies why they did not tell you Janeway's ship was not destroyed. Maybe they were trying to deceive you in some way."

"Fool," said Gunlag. "Their sensors were damaged and not working. I don't expect them to be truthful with me, but I trust you even less." Gunlag began beating Imot once again.

"Captain! You don't see this for the opportunity it is," gasped Imot.

"Opportunity? I'm rewarding you for your treachery and you dare speak of opportunity? Well, let's hear this crazy idea," said Gunlag. "Oh, this should be good." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Imot as the bridge echoed with derisive Magol laughter.

"You wanted revenge against Janeway for what she did when she took the Map Finder from you," said Imot. "Fate has presented her to you once again. You know they are desperate to take the map from us, or they would not be pursuing after taking so much damage. You should contact your allies and send a boarding party to take Janeway hostage. Make them give you the Map Finder to get her back." Gunlag raised his fist to strike Imot again. "They have temporal sensor technology," Imot said. "Think of what you could do with that. Think of both your revenge and your future profit."

"A boarding party? All right, Expendable. I'll send a boarding party, and you're going to lead it," said Gunlag. "If you come back without Janeway alive for me to use as a hostage, I'll have the pleasure of executing you myself."

Imot cowered on the deck, but nodded his agreement.

"Flamm, contact Tarik and Helar to make arrangements. Four of their crew are still aboard the _Herat_, and I'd like them to join the boarding party. Fate indeed has presented me with another opportunity, but if this miserable Expendable's plan fails, he will never offer another idea for my consideration."

Day 14

On board _Voyager_, 0039 hours:

Three hours after Imot hatched his desperate plan, _Voyager_ finally caught up to the Magol and their allies. They engaged Gunlag's ship and began to hammer away at its metaphasic shields with the nadion beam/covariant pulse combination.

"Condition of the Magol shields, Harry?" asked Janeway.

"Weakening. It shouldn't be much longer."

"Tuvok?"

"Away teams standing by in transporter room 2, awaiting your order."

Aboard Gunlag's _Herat,_ 0103 hours:

The Abuskat engineer Kerak, one of the original team sent to the _Herat_ to assist with the technology sharing project at the start of the alliance, leaned over Flamm's shoulder and pointed to a spot on the Magol's sensor readout of _Voyager_.

"Here, I think," he said. "This vector is on the point of failure. Direct your weapons fire there."

Flamm locked his pulse cannons on the place the Abuskat had indicated and unleashed a fierce volley.

Aboard _Voyager_:

"Get those shields back up now, Mr. Ayala," snapped Janeway. "Harry, keep that nadion beam and covariant pulse steady, whatever you do."

"Captain, there's a transport in progress. It's coming from the Magol and they're targeting the bridge" said Kim.

"Block it." Janeway jumped to her feet, phaser in hand.

"I can't – they're using the nadion beam as a carrier for their signal."

"Captain, the only way to block it is to discontinue the nadion beam," said Chakotay. "We'd be defenseless."

Janeway threw a glance over her shoulder to the tactical station. Ayala opened a channel and ordered security teams to the bridge.

"Harry, shipwide," ordered Janeway. The channel opened just as a boarding party of six materialized in the middle of the bridge. "Captain to all hands. We've been boarded. Arm yourselves."

An Abuskat quickly shot the phaser out Janeway's hand while a second shot from one of the Tarkada stunned her. The two Magol in the party dashed forward and grabbed her as she crumpled to the deck. The boarding party began to dematerialize the moment they had Janeway, before the rest of the bridge crew could get a clear shot and just as security teams arrived.

Chakotay spun around to face Ops. "Get them back now. I don't care how you do it. Once the lock is stable, send a graviton pulse back along their transporter signal to take out their targeting scanners."

"Skeletal lock obtained. Transmitting graviton pulse and rematerializing boarding party," said Kim.

Imot was horrified to find himself back on _Voyager_. He whirled and stunned the entire group, dropped his weapon, and threw himself at Chakotay's feet. "Asylum," he begged. "You promised me asylum if I helped you escape when you were Gunlag's captive. He'll kill me if you send me back without your captain."

Chakotay took one look at the bruised and bloodied Magol and barked, "Fine. You've got it." He turned to Ayala. "Put him in secured quarters and post two guards."

Chakotay bent down and gently removed his Captain from the crumpled pile of stunned aliens. He tapped his combadge. "Doctor, prepare for an emergency transport. The Captain has been injured."

"Acknowledged."

He turned to Kim as the security team hustled Imot off the bridge and said, "Beam them all back to Gunlag's ship along the nadion beam." The boarding party dematerialized.

"Time to complete repairs?" he asked Torres.

"Couple of hours. Nothing major this time. Harren's calculations made a difference."

Chakotay turned to Paris and said, "Tom, get us out of here, but stay within sensor range."

"With pleasure." _Voyager_ jumped to warp.

"They're not pursuing," said Kim.

"Good," said Chakotay. "Hold all damage reports until I get back. I'll be in sickbay. Paris, you have the bridge."

On the Magol ship:

Gunlag flew into a rage the moment the boarding party rematerialized in front of him without Imot and Janeway, but he held his temper in check until the Abuskat and Tarkada had left the bridge. He rounded on Asmot, the other hapless Expendable who had accompanied Imot on this mission. Gunlag activated his punishment device and jammed into Asmot's back.

"You helped him escape. Tell me what you know."

"Nothing," Asmot screamed as a jolt of pain shot through him. "He told me nothing."

"I don't believe you," Gunlag snarled as he sent another jolt through Asmot. "I should make an example of you to teach the rest of you worthless Expendables a lesson in case any of you are thinking about escape." Asmot shook with dread, fearing that he would not see the beginning of another day. Gunlag looked at the trembling Expendable with disgust, and said, "Confine him. I will finish this interrogation later." Two Essentials jumped from their assigned posts and removed Asmot from the bridge.

"Flamm, can you read that garbage's calculations?"

"Yes," Flamm replied, "but they won't be necessary. He has the course already entered into the helm. All we have to do is follow it."

"Good. I'm well rid of him," Gunlag said as he settled back into his chair to weigh his options for when the three ships reached the Second Portal. He smiled as he remembered the Magol canon: _"__There is always time for treachery."_

Day 14

In sickbay, 0115 hours:

"Report," barked Chakotay as he rushed through the sickbay doors and over to the surgical biobed where Janeway lay, barely conscious. The Doctor turned from where he was preparing medication, ready to snap out a sarcastic response until he saw Chakotay brush a wayward strand of hair from Janeway's face. He watched with a pang as the gesture turned into a gentle caress. The Doctor turned back to finish his medicine preparation, fully understanding the unrequited feelings behind Chakotay's action. His demeanor softened and he responded, "Second degree phaser burns on her hand and forearm, and trauma to her nervous system. What happened up there?"

"We were boarded, Doctor, and she was stunned twice within five minutes."

Janeway groaned and opened her eyes. She sat up clutching her head and moaned, "Why does it feel like the _Delta Flyer_ just landed on me?"

Chakotay helped the Doctor ease her back down onto the biobed as he replied, "Lie still, Kathryn. What do you remember?"

"We were boarded. I remember someone shooting the phaser out of my hand. Nothing after that."

"They stunned you and tried to transport you with them off the bridge. Harry got a lock and pulled everybody back. The Magol leading the raid stunned all of you and then begged me for asylum. He was the one who agreed to help me escape when Gunlag captured me, so I put him in secure quarters with two guards posted."

Janeway glanced at her shoulder, where Chakotay's hand had remained since he had helped the Doctor ease her back into lying down on the biobed. She looked up at him and said, "You know, somehow, I don't think I'm going anywhere right now."

"Indulge a nervous friend who thought for a moment that he would be the one standing on _Voyager's_ bridge, watching as you were being tortured by that monster. I don't know what I would have done if I'd had to listen to your screams."

"Come to think of it..." Janeway said as she shuddered involuntarily. She reached up and put her undamaged hand over his. "Thank you for making sure that didn't become my reality, Chakotay." She looked up at the Doctor, who was using a dermal regenerator to heal the energy weapon burns on her other hand.

The Doctor smiled and said, "You should recover fairly quickly, Captain, provided that you rest. You're in good health otherwise."

"I will, Doctor, after my first officer brings me up to date."

The Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes, but said to Chakotay, "Keep it brief," as he returned to his office to enter data into the Captain's medical records.

Chakotay removed his hand from Janeway's shoulder and switched to professional mode. "We took some damage when we lost our shields, but B'Elanna thinks it shouldn't be more than a few hours' work. Apparently, Harren's latest calculations did their job. There's only very slight damage to our systems. Once the repair crews are done, we'll be in pursuit again."

"All right, Commander, that's enough for now," said the Doctor as he left his office to shoo Chakotay from sickbay. "I will keep you updated on her condition, but my patient has to rest now."

"I'll expect it, Doctor," Chakotay said. He gave Janeway's hand a squeeze and said, "I'm going to speak to our refugee briefly, and then I'm going off duty for a few hours to get some sleep. Paris has the bridge, but don't hesitate to call me if you need me, Kathryn." Janeway nodded, and Chakotay turned and left sickbay.

The Doctor waited until the sickbay doors closed behind Chakotay before he spoke. "I've healed the weapon burns, Captain, but your nervous system is another story. I'm going to keep you here under sedation for the next four hours to help your body recover from the shock."

"Is that really necessary, Doctor?" Janeway asked, as he closed the bioshell arms around her.

"I want to monitor your progress," he said. "If your condition improves at the rate I expect it to, I will release you to return to duty at 0600. I know that short of putting you in an isotropic restraint, nothing will keep you off the bridge during a crisis. The least you can do for me is to rest for the next few hours."

"All right, Doctor, you win," she said. The EMH injected Janeway with a mild sedative, and she closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

In secured quarters aboard _Voyager_, 0145 hours:

Chakotay nodded to the two security guards posted at the door as he entered the cabin in which Imot was being held.

"Map Finder, I owe you my life," Imot said as Chakotay stepped into the room.

"The name's Chakotay."

"Imot," the Magol said. "I knew you were an honorable man who would keep your word because of the way you escaped without letting Gunlag know that I had offered to help you."

"I know what they did to me, and judging by the look of you, Gunlag doesn't hesitate to torture his own when it suits his purpose," said Chakotay.

"Not all Magol are as vicious as Gunlag," said Imot. "My misfortune to have ended up serving on his ship."

"I'll ask our Doctor to come by and check you over, and someone will be along with a meal for you," said Chakotay. "Until they get here, I have some questions for you."

"Ask me anything."

"We found evidence that suggested there was a spy aboard _Voyager_," said Chakotay.

"There was," said Imot. "Gunlag made an alliance with two other species, and one of them had undetectable stealth cloaks. We were able to follow you in the marketplace where you found part of the map, and the spy was able to spend several hours on your ship gathering information."

"You said there were two other species."

"Yes," said Imot. "The species that has the cloak is called the Tarkada, and the other is the Abuskat. They have highly advanced sensor technology. Fortunately for you, their sensors were not working when you faked your own destruction, or they would have seen it was a trick."

"But we didn't fool you."

"No. I happened to be monitoring the _Herat's_ sensors. The readings were not what I would expect for a ship of your size. My captain didn't understand what they meant, so I was hoping to get us through the map portal before he learned otherwise."

"So he has the map then?" asked Chakotay.

"Yes. A portion of it was blurred, but the coordinates to the map portal were easy enough to plot," said Imot. He hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "How is your captain?"

"She's resting in sickbay. She'll make a complete recovery. Why do you ask?"

Imot said, "I regret having shot her. Gunlag put me in charge of the raid, and told me he would execute me if I returned empty-handed. That is why I asked you for asylum."

"I saw you had been badly beaten, Imot. There was no way I could have sent you back to your ship. You'll find the people on _Voyager_ to be compassionate, unlike what you've been used to," said Chakotay.

"If I had attacked a captain on any other vessel I know of, I would be dead now. There is something I can do to repay your kindness. I plotted the course to the map portal for Gunlag, and the coordinates are still fresh in my mind. Allow me to recreate that for you."

"All right. I can give you access to our astrometrics department. The woman who works there will assist you. I'm willing to give you more freedom to move around the ship, but you'll have to be accompanied by a security detail. It's standard procedure."

"I accept your conditions, Chakotay. You have been more generous than I deserve."

At that moment, the door opened and Neelix bustled in with a hot meal on a tray. "Well, Commander, I see we have a new passenger."

"Neelix, this is Imot. He'll be traveling with us through the Second Portal."

"Very good," said Neelix. "I have a little time right now to spend with Mr. Imot if you have something else you need to do. I can familiarize him with how we do things around here."

"Good idea, Neelix. I'll leave him in your capable hands for now." He turned and left the cabin as Neelix set the tray down and began to draw Imot out. Once in the corridor, Chakotay tapped his combadge. "Chakotay to Ayala."

"Ayala here."

"Mike, our Magol guest has offered to recreate the course to the Portal for us, and I need you to set that up with astrometrics. I've decided to let him out of secure quarters, but he'll need a security detail with him at all times. I'm going off duty to catch a few hours sleep before our final showdown with the Magol. Chakotay out."

Scylla and Charybdis:

Charybdis, 0615 hours:

About five hours later, _Voyager_ was within sensor range of the Magol and their allies. Janeway had been released from sickbay and was on her way to the mess hall.

"Captain, so good to see you," said Neelix when he looked up from his stove to see who had walked through the doors. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, Neelix. Not 100, but the Doctor certified me fit for duty, so here I am. I've come to invite you to the bridge as an observer. You're the one who got us started on this adventure. I think your presence may be an asset when we try to go through the Portal. "

Neelix swelled with pride at the attention. "Anything I can do to help, Captain, I'm happy to do."

"Janeway to Chell. Please report to the mess hall to cover for Neelix." She turned to say something further to Neelix, and the worried expression on his face reminded her of the conversation with Chakotay over dinner the previous week. She remembered that he had mentioned Neelix's insecurity over having someone else in his kitchen and she hastened to reassure him. "Neelix, I just want the shift covered as a matter of procedure. You know no one could ever take your place. You're a _Voyager_ institution."

Neelix ducked his head bashfully and said, "Captain, you always know that right thing to say to warm my Talaxian heart." Janeway smiled and started for the door. Neelix said, "Aren't you forgetting something?" Janeway looked puzzled until Neelix walked over to the replicator and punched in a code. He picked up the steaming cup of coffee and said, "Commander Chakotay told me that you beat the Borg with this. Gunlag doesn't stand a chance."

They both laughed and headed for the turbolift. When Janeway stepped onto the bridge, the first thing she saw was Tuvok back at his station. A smile lit up her face as she said, "How are you, old friend?"

"Improved, Captain. The Doctor cleared me for duty."

"Just in time, Tuvok. We're about to re-engage the Magol near the Portal. I'm assuming you've been brought up to date."

"I have."

"Captain," said Harry Kim, "I'm detecting weapons fire at the edge of our sensor range."

"Onscreen."

The viewscreen showed a particle fountain with three ships in the middle of a pitched battle near the edge of the anomaly.

"Magnify."

The image showed the Magol firing upon the two allies, one of whom was clearly losing the battle to keep from being driven into the particle fountain.

"How soon can we get there, Tom?" asked Janeway.

"Not soon enough," interrupted Kim.

"Harry?"

"The entire region around the particle fountain is riddled with subspace fractures and sinkholes."

"All stop."

"Coming to all stop," said Paris.

"We could go around it, but it would take too long for us to be any help," said Torres. "I can reconfigure the shields to repel the fractures, but we'll have to proceed at impulse only until we can find a stable area near the particle fountain. Subspace is pretty badly damaged here."

"All right, do it," said Janeway. "Janeway to Chakotay."

"Chakotay here."

"Commander, I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but I need you on the bridge. We're about to engage the Magol."

"On my way."

The bridge crew continued to watch the battle play out on the viewscreen. Chakotay arrived and took in the image on the viewscreen. He said, "Looks like Gunlag wants to keep the map for himself."

"So it would appear. That was undoubtedly his plan all along," said Tuvok.

"I think Mr. Vulcan is right," said Neelix. "Our Magol guest told me that Gunlag has crew from both of the allies on his ship, and said that he would probably torture them for information."

Voyager continued to pick its way through the damaged area of subspace surrounding the particle fountain, and found a stable area just in time to see the Abuskat ship being drawn into a sinkhole.

"Tractor beam."

"Captain, we're out of range," said Kim helplessly, as the bridge crew watched the Abuskat ship disappear into the anomaly. The Tarkada barely escaped being drawn in as well, and flew out of range of its gravitational pull. The _Herat_ fired a last heavy phase cannon volley at them and began a run for the Portal, which was visible far in the distance. The Tarkada came about and matched Gunlag's course and speed.

"Captain, I have those distance calculations to follow that second ship into the Portal," said Kim. "Transmitting them to the helm."

"Got 'em, Harry," said Paris.

"Tuvok, how soon will we be in weapons range?' asked Janeway.

"We are in range now, Captain."

"Fire a couple of warning shots across Gunlag's bow. Try to slow him down."

"No effect."

"Tom, it's up to you now," said Janeway. "We're going to have to ride the tail of that second ship."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Scylla, 0743 hours:

The Second Portal's aperture was visible in the distance.

"Harry, what do have on sensors?" asked Chakotay.

"No creature this time, but I am detecting an energy barrier with the beacon frequency," said Kim. "I'm getting a few unusual readings, too – they're very faint, but nothing that sets off any warning bells."

"Keep an eye on those, Harry," said Janeway, "and start broadcasting the beacon frequency."

"Broadcasting, aye."

"Seven, activate the enhanced structural integrity field."

"Field activated," responded Seven.

"Captain, they're picking up speed," said Paris.

"Match it," ordered Janeway. "Move us up behind that second ship as close as you can get and still leave us room to maneuver away if we have to."

"Yes, ma'am."

The _Herat_ easily passed through the energy barrier and into the Second Portal, closely followed by the Tarkada. After Tarkada ship entered the Portal, the entrance snapped shut behind it just as _Voyager_ breached the energy barrier. Tom Paris slammed his fist on the console and uttered an oath as the ship sailed through empty space where only moments before a wormhole had existed.

Thick silence hung over the stunned bridge crew. Finally, Janeway spoke and said, "Tom, move us off in case the Portal opens again, and we can make another run. Seven, discontinue the structural integrity field while we consider our options."

"I'm not so sure that there are any options, Captain," said Kim. "Neelix, didn't Eyfrod say we would never see our homeworld again if the map was stolen?"

"He did indeed, Harry," responded a dejected Neelix. "This is starting to sound an awful lot like the "False Passage" story we heard on Nardonia."

"False Passage?" asked Kim.

"That legend was about a convenient wormhole that offers travelers an escape from an unfamiliar region of space full of spatial anomalies, and then destroys them when they're inside and can't turn back," said Neelix.

"Captain, the last Portal destroyed any ships that entered without the correct password," said Chakotay, "and you know that Eyfrod told us that any ship entering a Portal must have all the pieces of the map collected thus far to pass through safely."

Janeway leapt to her feet with a sharp intake of breath. "And Icheb told us that the portal will destroy the ships and eject the indestructible portion of map if they don't. Tom…"

_Voyager_ was already moving before Janeway had finished her first sentence. "Way ahead of you, Captain. Taking us out of range," said Paris.

"Captain to all hands, brace yourselves."

The Second Portal abruptly popped open, spewing debris from Gunlag's ship over a wide area. _Voyager_ rocked back severely from the force of the shockwave.

"Report!"

"Minor damage," said Tuvok. "It will take our systems several minutes to stabilize, but we are otherwise unharmed."

"Harry, scan the debris," said Janeway.

"Scanning. Captain, I'm only detecting pieces of the Magol ship. The other one must have made it through to Third Portal space."

"We'll worry about them later."

"Wait a minute," said Kim. "I'm reading the beacon frequency – I think it's the map."

"We'll soon find out. Lock onto it and beam it onto the bridge."

The Second Portal map materialized on the deck next to the helm. Tom Paris reached under his console for the First Portal map which he had stowed there when _Voyager_ left the nebula and placed it on top of his station. He reached over and retrieved the Second Portal map and sat back down at the helm as he placed the second set of quadlets near the first. The entire bridge crew watched mesmerized as the two sets of quadlets were drawn together. The Second Portal map slid on top of the first set and fused itself to the First Portal map.

"Nice engineering," said an appreciative Torres from her station.

"Seven, bring the enhanced structural integrity field online," said Janeway. Harry, start broadcasting the beacon frequency."

"Online," said Seven.

"And broadcasting," said Kim.

"Tom, we're ready when you are. Take us in."

Paris laid his hand upon the fused quadlets and the grey mist of the living map sprung up around him, taking him into its grip and leaving him blind to his surroundings. Images of planets and stars whirled though the fog surrounding the helm. Janeway looked over at him with a swell of confidence and trust that her helmsman would get them safely through the Portal with the assistance of the map, just as he had done before. _Voyager_ passed through the energy barrier and entered the Second Portal.

"Captain, someone has activated the containment bubble we used in the nebula," said Kim.

Janeway glanced back at Seven, who said, "I did not activate it."

She then turned to look at the Tactical station, where the gray mist was springing up around the console. Tuvok stood at his post, staring at the viewscreen, unseeing. The cloud of mist continued to grow and swirl until it had enveloped the Tactical and hidden the Vulcan from view.

"Captain, sensors are reading an antimatter lining close to the exit aperture of the Portal," said Kim. "This is an antimatter wormhole."

Neelix had an insight and it transmitted instantly across the Tasnixia bond to Chakotay. They turned to one another and said together, "The Deadly Welcome."

Before Janeway could ask what that was, Torres tapped her combadge and said, "Torres to Harren. Get up to the bridge on the double. We need you." She turned to Janeway and said, "I heard about this when Tom came back from Nardonia. He thought it sounded like a nav warning, and if he's right, we're not out of the woods yet."

Forks of intense energy began to crackle around the perimeter of the containment bubble. Torres glanced down at her console and an anomalous reading caught her eye. She realized that the quantum signature of the Portal's antimatter lining was slightly different from that which they had encountered in the nebula. She quickly began entering data to reconfigure the bubble.

Seven looked at her console when Torres went into action and immediately realized what the problem was. She had begun to make fractal algorithmic adjustments to stabilize the shield matrix when the turbolift opened and discharged Mortimer Harren onto the bridge. 'Mr. Harren, assist me," she called out. Harren sprinted to Seven's side.

After a very tense 30 seconds, the bridge crew saw the crackling energy decrease in intensity. Torres relaxed and looked up from her console to say, "There. We should be safe for the remainder of the trip." She glanced over at the helm and commented, "As Tom would say, just sit back and enjoy the ride."

Harren looked up at the viewscreen from his position next to Seven and silently watched the antimatter tendrils dancing across the containment bubble until _Voyager_ exited the Portal and found itself back in normal space.

"You know," he said, "Tom once told me that he enjoyed the view he had at the helm. He was right. It is better from up here."

Janeway just smiled at her former lost sheep's observation.

_Captain's Log, Stardate 54094.5__: _

_I'm pleased to note in this log that we have covered 4,700 light years in two weeks with this latest Portal jump. That puts us 25,367 light years from home, which means nearly five years taken off our journey. As one would expect, the crew is elated._

Voyager_ exited the antimatter Portal without incident, and we are now underway for Sirana, a planet suggested by our Magol passenger, where we will set down for needed repairs and a long overdue warp coil refit. Imot assures me that the Siranians are friendly, and are receptive to travelers in need of a little shore leave._

_We have been able to arrange for as much gallicite as we need for the refit in exchange for engineering assistance with repairing and upgrading Siranian technology damaged in a recent severe ion storm._

_Sensors have shown no sign of the ship that entered the Portal with Gunlag. I would have liked to have learned how they were able to pass through safely without having the protection of the map. That kind of information could have proved useful later on in our journey._

Several days later, planetside:

Kathryn Janeway sat on the couch in her ready room, enjoying the feel of the warm sunshine pouring through the viewports as she caught up on reading reports. The door chimed, and she called out, "Come." Tuvok, Neelix, Imot, and a two-man security detail entered. Janeway came down to the lower level and stood behind her desk.

"Imot, I'd like to extend our thanks for charting the course to the Portal for us, and for recommending this planet."

"It is far less than enough to thank you for your kindness to me in saving my life," Imot said. "I knew of Sirana from an old friend who is a deep-space trader in commodities. It is fortunate for you that Gunlag never traveled this far out from Magol. You and your crew won't be tainted by association with him."

"It was fortunate for you as well, Imot," Janeway replied. "The Siranians certainly appreciate your way with their technology."

"That comes from having worked in the engine room on a long-haul Siranian cargo freighter for many years. I found them to be a very welcoming and tolerant people, one that I am happy to meet again."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Janeway. "I wanted to be the one to tell you that the planetary government has granted your request to settle here. You're free to transport down whenever you wish."

"I would like to go now, Captain Janeway, if I may. There are some friends from my cargo ship days that I'd like to look up."

"Of course."

"Mr. Neelix," said Tuvok. "Please escort our guest to the transporter room in my place. There are a few matters I wish to discuss with the Captain."

"My pleasure, Mr. Vulcan," said Neelix. "Imot, if you would come with me?"

"Goodbye, Imot, and the best of luck in your new life on Sirana," said Janeway.

Farewell, Captain. Fortunate journey," said Imot with a friendly wave as he left the ready room with Neelix and the security detail.

Janeway returned to her spot on the couch and invited Tuvok to join her. She picked up the fused map from the low table in front of the couch and handed it to him. Tuvok took a few moments to look it over and then glanced up.

"I hope the past few days of meditation have restored your equanimity, Tuvok," Janeway said. "It can't have been easy for you to be so totally controlled by the map."

"They have, Captain. I found the experience to be somewhat unsettling, but not negative in any sense. My mental discipline would have allowed me to resist the intrusion, but logic based on past experience suggested that the contact would benefit us all. I had already surmised that my previous connections to the map had opened my consciousness to the prompting of the Mapkeeper's mind, so I followed the impulse's prompting."

"Good thing you did, otherwise we would 'be toast' right now, as Tom would say. The people who scattered the map were obviously very resourceful. Who would have ever expected them to close the door to normal space with a booby trap like an antimatter wormhole?"

"We may encounter other such 'booby traps' in our search for the remaining portals, among other unusual phenomena. Although there is now some idea of what to expect, I do not think the search for the quadlets will become routine. We must keep our minds open and not limit our thinking to what we have experienced thus far."

"Agreed," said Janeway.

"I am looking forward with anticipation to studying the map anew when I return from the surface of the planet."

"Tuvok! Shore leave? You?"

"Vorik expressed a desire to visit the technology museums on this planet, and I agreed to accompany him," said Tuvok.

"Then I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy your museums."

"Tuvok nodded, and left the ready room. Chakotay and a large canister he was carrying slung over his shoulder managed to slip through the door just as it was closing.

Janeway looked up with a smile. "Well, this is unexpected," she said. "I thought you were taking a little shore leave with Naomi and Samantha Wildman today."

"I was, Kathryn, but we found a spot so beautiful that your captain's assistant insisted that I beam back and invite the only person on _Voyager_ who's not taken shore leave to a picnic lunch this afternoon.

"Don't think I'm not tempted, Chakotay."

He sat down next to her and set the canister down on the floor. "I think I should tell you that I ran into the Doctor on my way over from the transporter room, and he was grousing about how the only way you'd take the shore leave he prescribed would be if he pulled rank on you as Chief Medical Officer. I think I headed him off, but it would be just like him use the emergency medical channel to check up on you."

"Well..."

"Repairs are on schedule, and our diplomatic reception for the Siranian officials isn't for another five days. Neelix has preparations for that well in hand. I've heard that even Tuvok is going down to the planet, Kathryn. We have plenty of time before we have to think about starting our search for the Third Portal."

Janeway looked out at the blue sky and felt herself begin to waver. "Well," she said, "it might be nice to spend a few hours out in the fresh air."

"Harry's back from his shore leave rotation. He can certainly mind the store for a few hours. I can promise you a setting as idyllic as anything we saw on New Earth, and I've even got a thermos of freshly replicated coffee with your name on it in here," Chakotay said, tapping the container for emphasis. "None of Neelix's coffee substitutes anywhere in sight."

"Awfully confident of your powers of persuasion, aren't you," Janeway said with a smirk. "Got any Jibelian fudge bars in there?"

Chakotay looked puzzled for a moment. "I suppose I could always replicate a few if you'd like some," he said.

"Good. I wouldn't want to disappoint my captain's assistant when it came time for dessert. My rations, and replicate enough for all of us."

"Aye, captain." Chakotay grinned, walked over to the replicator, and started punching in codes. Janeway tapped her combadge.

"Janeway to Kim."

"Kim here."

"Harry, there's something on the planet surface that the Commander thinks I should see. You wouldn't mind sitting in the big chair for a few hours, would you?"

"No, ma'am," he replied with enthusiasm. "Enjoy your time on Sirana."

Janeway set down her padd and took the arm her First Officer offered. They left the ready room through the private entrance that opened onto the corridor and went on their way to transport down to the planet. Warm sunlight continued to pour into the room as the doors snapped shut on a peal of the Captain's merry laughter.


End file.
